Attention, Yorkville Shoppers
Council approves Marketplace mall

YORKVILLE- Despite some residents' objections, alderman voted 6-1 Tuesday to authorize a development agreement for a more than 800,000 square-foot mall at the corner of Route 34 and Cannonball Trail.

“We have been hoping something of this caliber would come,” said Alderman Valerie Burd, noting that Yorkville's population has quadrupled during her 18 years here. The added residents all need city services, she said, “services we don't have the money to do without the money to do without this commercial development.

The Yorkville Economic Development Corporation predicts that the center would bring the city more than $5 million in real estate and sales tax revenues in its first year alone.

The mall, to be called Kendall Marketplace, is expected to boast a Target, a Home Depot and a Kohl's, as well as a variety of smaller stores and restaurants. Some homes also are planned for the property.

Alderman Marty Munns, who chairs the city's Economic Development Committee, said roughly 90 percent of the residents' comments he has received regarding the project have been positive.

But the council's approval disappointed two area resident groups who fear the mall would bring traffic to their quiet neighborhoods.

Tim Popplewell, homeowner's president for the Kylyn's Ridge subdivision, adjacent to the new mall site, expressed concern that High Ridge Road would become a shortcut for shoppers.

“Many of our driveways back out onto that road, and many of our from yards face High Ridge,” he told the City Council.

The developers adjusted a part of the road in response to the concerns of Popplewell and his neighbors, making it what Rick Filler of Chicago-based Harlem-Irving Cos. called “a very inconvenient” route to the mall. Harlem Irving is working with Oak Brook-based Mid-America Development on the project.

But Popplewell still saw the road as dangerous, a concern seemingly shared by Alderman James Bock, whose ward encompasses the mall site and who was the only alderman to vote against the project. (Alderman Jason Leslie was absent)

“I don't think they've done everything they can,” Bock said before casting his vote. “I was hoping and expecting more.”

The Cannonball Trail Civic League, a group with a mailing list of 50 households, all outside Yorkville city limits, has not ruled out the possibility of challenging the council's decision in court, said Martha Price, the group's president.

Also concerned about noise and traffic the mall would bring, the group has discussed the idea of a legal challenge on the basis that the mall plan deviates slightly from the city's comprehensive plan, or blueprint of the area.

In addition to the major retailers already announced, developers hope the mall will include a movie theater, an electronics store, a bookstore, specialty boutiques and a courtyard with a reflecting pool.

Those amenities would make the mall the first in Kendall County to host such a mix of shopping, dining, entertainment and public space, according to Yorkville Economic Development Corporation Director Lynn Dubajic said.