At Home, 24 Hour Fitness to replace long-shuttered Lowe's in Schaumburg

Schaumburg's currently longest retail vacancy will end early this fall when an At Home interior decor store and a 24 Hour Fitness open in the former Lowe's location that closed in August 2011 at the northeast corner of Barrington and Schaumburg roads.

At Home will fill 90,000 square feet of the long-empty space in the Prairie Towne Shopping Center, moving from a comparably sized space in the Woodfield Village Green Shopping Center across Golf Road from Woodfield Mall.

Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank said the new location is closer to a residential area and complementary to the Kohl's in the Prairie Towne Shopping Center.

The 24 Hour Fitness will fill the remaining 37,000 square feet of the former Lowe's site and is a business new to Schaumburg, Frank said.

The Lowe's store on the west side of Schaumburg opened in January 2006 and closed abruptly after 5½ years of operation. It employed 110 people.

The store's size is only one of the factors that make securing a replacement business difficult, Frank said.

“The challenge is finding a tenant in expansion mode and looking to locate in the Chicago area,” he said. “We're excited to backfill this space.”

The next challenge is always right around the corner, but the village is already at work trying to find a tenant to replace At Home at Woodfield Village Green, Frank said.