Jewel-Osco planning second store in Huntley
Huntley could get another Jewel-Osco grocery store on the north side of town.
Village officials recently reviewed conceptual site plans for a 62,794-square-foot store proposed for the northeast corner of Route 47 and Reed Road. It is targeted for roughly 17 acres that will be split into two lots with the grocery store built on the southern lot next to Reed Road.
Village officials said they reached out to Mariano's and Whole Foods Market, but those grocery chains were not interested in the site.
The proposed store would focus on fresh and prepared foods and include a drive-through Osco pharmacy, a Starbucks coffee shop, a cafe and seating area, and possibly an outside seating area. The $17 million project is expected to bring 160 new jobs to the area, documents show.
Jewel would become the anchor tenant of the shopping area, which includes a Walgreens to the west and a multi-tenant center to the north housing a Dunkin' Donuts. The project is expected to spur additional economic development interest in the area, according to officials.
"Now we've seen an opportunity on the north side where there appears to be a gap in our network and the grocery business in general, and we'd like to bring our newest and latest vision to the north side of town," Dave Hene, senior real estate manager for Jewel-Osco, told the village board earlier this month. "We are not going to forget about our store on the south side. We have plans to remodel that location. We have every intention of having two great stores in Huntley."
Jewel plans to spend $1.5 million to renovate the store off Route 47 across from Sun City-Huntley, at 13200 Village Green Drive, Hene said. That store opened in 2002.
The Itasca-based supermarket chain is owned by Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons. In the past four years since its new ownership, Jewel has remodeled 125 of its 187 stores in an effort to reinvest in the company, Hene said.
"For some locations that means bars, sit-down service, and for other locations it's an emphasis on fresh, prepared foods," Hene said. "That's the future of our business. We don't want to be chasing that trend. We want to be on the front end of that trend. We are looking to serve people more than a can of corn and a bunch of bananas. We want to be a more comprehensive shopping trip."
Final site plans will be presented to the village board for approval at a later date.