Business growth a big part of plan for Schaumburg's 60th year
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct that a Michaels arts and crafts store will be moving into the former Hobby Lobby on Schaumburg Road.
Schaumburg marks its 60th anniversary in 2016, and Mayor Al Larson says the village intends to continue its tradition of transformation and improvement in the year ahead.
“We're proud of what we've achieved and we've come a long way since our beginnings as an agricultural community,” Larson said Tuesday in his annual state of the village address to the Schaumburg Business Association.
A key to the economic development Schaumburg expects to see in 2016 is completion of a partial interchange at Meacham Road on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway and a full interchange at Roselle Road.
Schaumburg Economic Development Manager Matt Frank said five hotels already are under construction in the village, while developers are in talks about adding two more.
This will be a year of redevelopment for a few of the village's lucrative auto dealerships, including Toyota, Ford and the switching of locations of Bob Rohrman's Honda and Kia dealerships on Golf Road.
Redevelopment also will take place at the village's two former Dominick's stores. First, Art Van Furniture will open at the former Dominick's at Higgins and Meacham roads, and later in the year Tony's Finer Foods intends to move into the vacant Dominick's in Town Square at Schaumburg and Roselle roads. However, a landlord-tenant dispute has delayed the six-month renovation Tony's owners want to do first, Frank said.
The year begins with Motorola Solutions preparing to subdivide and sell off its longtime campus at Algonquin and Meacham roads, while still retaining 1,600 employees on the site.
The fate of the iconic Zurich office towers — once Zurich North America relocates to its new headquarters on the Motorola campus — remains a question mark, Frank said. But the village has been talking to a couple of potential tenants, one of whom could bring as many as 1,500 employees to town.
The Schaumburg Convention Center and adjoining Renaissance Hotel will be marking their 10th anniversary this summer, General Manager Lisa Timbo said. Plans call for work to refresh the facility with new carpeting, an expanded coffee outlet and room renovations.
One of the positive aspects of 2015 was the availability of Illinois grant money for mid-size convention centers like Schaumburg's to use to attract shows and conferences away from out-of-state venues.
The village also received significant grant money for road and bike path improvements, Schaumburg Transportation Director Karyn Robles said. In addition to maintaining streets, more gaps in the existing bike path system will be filled.
Among the new restaurants popping up in Schaumburg during the first half of 2016 will be Walker Bros., The Original Pancake House in the former Applebee's at Town Square, and Kouzina Greek Kitchen & Bar at the southwest corner of Golf and Plum Grove roads, where the new owner's father ran Greek Village Taverna for about 35 years.
On the retail front, Woodfield Mall will mark the official end of its yearlong, $13.9 million renovation around late March, and a Michaels arts and crafts store will be moving into the former Hobby Lobby on Schaumburg Road, Frank said.
The village's 60th anniversary will be celebrated with special fireworks nights at Schaumburg Boomers Stadium, as well through some yet-to-be announced events honoring Schaumburg's history, village Communications Manager Allison Albrecht said.