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Foundations going in, walls next for Woodman's Food Market in Lakemoor

To drivers near the busy intersection of routes 12 and 120 in Lakemoor, workers in the distance look like ants, belying the enormity of the ongoing project.

So far, much of the work for a Woodman's Food Market has involved the site itself - mass grading, installing underground utilities, raising the surface about 3 feet and fashioning extensive areas to hold stormwater, for example.

But the corner has been turned and the foundation is being poured for the enormous 244,171-square-foot building - about 5.6 acres under roof.

"You could fit 32 homes in there, to put it in perspective," Matt Dabrowski, Lakemoor's director of community and economic development, said Friday during a visit to the construction area. "It's just amazing, the sheer magnitude of this thing."

For comparison, Whole Foods, which opened Oct. 3 in Vernon Hills, is 48,000 square feet, the new Mariano's Fresh Market in Crystal Lake is 74,800 square feet, and a typical Jewel Food Store is about 100,000 square feet.

"It's a very large earthwork job. A majority of the site the store is in (22 acres) was in the flood plain. We basically moved the flood plain," said Jim Arneson, president of FoxArneson, the general contractor. The company also built the Woodman's store that opened Sept. 1 in Buffalo Grove.

In coming weeks, the precast concrete walls will be installed, followed by steel framing with a goal of having the building under roof by Jan. 1. Completion is targeted for Sept. 1.

"We had some rain figured in (the schedule) but not as much as we had," Arneson said. "It's not going to delay the store. Once we get the foundation in, it gets a lot easier."

Meanwhile, separate but related work to add dual turn lanes in each direction of the intersection as well as widening the road to accommodate the entrances to the site on the southwest corner is expected to be complete in mid-November, Dabrowski said.

Village Administrator David Alarcon said interest has been high and information on the village website has generated 18,000 views. Lake County Board member Judy Martini, who was among those who walked the site Friday, has seen the same thing in responses to her electronic newsletters.

"This is the No. 1 question from people in this area - Woodman's," she said.

The project has been several years in the making and involves a substantial investment by the village, which will be paying $10 million for the public improvements associated with the project. Woodman's is investing $32 million on the site and construction, Dabrowski said.

Lakemoor officials regard the "super-regional" project as a spark to more development in and around the village and will be highlighting the possibilities next week at an International Council of Shopping Centers conference in Chicago.

But there also has been pushback since village officials in February 2016 announced the Wisconsin-based grocer's intention to buy and develop 74 acres at the southwest corner of the intersection.

Wauconda Unit District 118, Wauconda Township and Wauconda Area Library challenged in court the village's creation of a tax increment financing district, which freezes the value of the land for property tax purposes at predevelopment levels for 23 years.

The entities contend that corner would have developed without the designation, but the village disagrees, saying nothing would have happened without the incentive. Oral arguments on recently filed motions are scheduled for Nov. 15.

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  Work is progressing at the Woodman's Food Market site at routes 12 and 120 in Lakemoor. Mick Zawislak/mzawislak@dailyherald.com
  Village officials were among those Friday who toured the future Woodman's Food Market at route 12 and 120 in Lakemoor. Mick Zawislak/mzawislak@dailyherald.com
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