Burlington, Dollar Tree to fill former Sports Authority in Hoffman Estates

Hoffman Estates officials on Monday approved a plan to divide the former Sports Authority building on Hoffman Boulevard into separate spaces for Burlington and Dollar Tree stores, as well as a deal reimbursing up to $450,000 in sales tax to make it financially viable.

Though the unanimous vote occurred at Monday's village board meeting, most of the discussion of the proposal for the 40,000-square-foot building at 4700 Hoffman Blvd. took place at last week's planning, building and zoning committee meeting.

Hoffman Estates Economic Development Director Kevin Kramer said one of the biggest challenges in refilling the Sports Authority building, which has been vacant since 2016, is that it was designed for a single retailer.

"Dividing that space when it was supposed to be one, there's quite a bit of cost there," he said. "And more than these two tenants typically pay to cover the cost of that project."

The village's sales-tax reimbursement agreement is with Northbrook-based HMC PT Prairie Stone Crossing LLC, which will lease the divided building to Burlington and Dollar Tree.

The agreement will reimburse 75% of the local sales tax generated during 2021, when the stores will be open for just part of year. For every year after, 10% of the stores' sales taxes will be reimbursed to the property owner.

The deal will end after either 10 years or when a total of $450,000 has been reimbursed, whichever comes first.

The agreement also contains provisions protecting the village's interests if one or both stores close before the end of their 10-year leases.

Trustees expressed their happiness with the plan.

"I'm looking forward to it. It's been empty for way too long," Trustee Gary Pilafas said.

Trustee Michael Gaeta concurred, saying, "I think this is going to be a great asset to the west end of that shopping center."