Yorkville welcoming businesses big and small

October 02, 2007
By HEATHER GILLERS Staff Writer

YORKVILLE -- Eager shoppers have already have glimpsed the inside of Kohl's, the first store to open at the Kendall Marketplace shopping center.

In addition to the chain stores that will fill the 800,000 square-foot mall, however, Yorkville business and civic leaders hope to make room for some smaller establishments.

City planners and developers met this week to continue talks on how to bring restaurants and specialty stores to Countryside Center at Routes 34 and 47, where the city had once hoped to site a large department store.

"It's kind of like going back to the drawing board," said Yorkville Economic Development Director Lynn Dubajic. "(Route) 34 and Cannonball has evolved to be the big box location. The best use for Countryside may be something different."

The city, which has already spent $500,000 in tax incentives on the Countryside Center project, would need to approve the change.

Other small firms could find a home at the newly constructed Yorkville Design Center, where St. Joseph's Cabinetry plans to move next year.

"We're going to miss being downtown, there's no doubt about that," said owner Greg Millen, whose firm has been a fixture of Halloween and Christmas walks. "We'll hopefully still have some influence on special events."

Millen helped design the center at 129 Commercial Drive and owns nearly half the space, much of which he hopes to rent to other small businesses.

Meanwhile, Target, Home Depot and Linens N Things are expected to open in the next year in Kendall Marketplace at Route 34 and Cannonball Trail, where Kohl's began welcoming shoppers this week. A formal opening ceremony is planned for Wednesday morning.

"There's definitely room for big business," Millen said. "And I think there's still room for ma and pa."