If you build it ...
Crowds turn out for Kohl's opening in Yorkville

October 04, 2007
By Rowena Vergara Staff Writer

YORKVILLE -- Yorkville residents aren't the only ones who have been eagerly awaiting the opening of Kohl's, the first big-name retailer ever to open in the city.

People from Plano, Sandwich, Earlville and Somonauk have been equally excited.

And hundreds of them showed up Wednesday, filling the aisles at the grand opening of the store on Route 34.

City leaders see Kohl's arrival as the beginning of Yorkville's center for shopping, activity and commerce. It location near the intersection with Route 47 is one of the busiest in Kendall County and convenient for shoppers coming from the smaller western towns.

"This is going to be very convenient. I'll probably be here all the time," said Cindy Noel of Earlville.

Shirley Bomstead of Somonauk agreed.

"It's straight on Route 34. It's very easy to get to. Otherwise, I'd have to go to DeKalb or Fox Valley mall (in Aurora), and it's hard to get to both of those," she said.

Along with Kohl's, a Home Depot is opening in early 2008 and a Super Target in late spring at the shopping center, called Kendall Marketplace. At completion, it will feature 800,000 square feet of retail.

Another shopping development, Rob Roy Falls off Route 34, will be even bigger. The project calls for a million square feet of retail, said Lynn Dubajic, executive director of the Yorkville Economic Development Corporation.

Kendall Marketplace also is across the street from a future $23 million, 45-acre Rush-Copley Medical Center facility.

"There's a synergy happening on Route 34," Dubajic said.

Store manager Cheryl Johnson said retailers like Kohl's are becoming standards in communities, just as shoppers depend on a Target, Wal-Mart or Walgreens close to home. There already is a Kohl's in Oswego about seven miles away.

"It's almost an expectation in a community for consumers," she said.

Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based Kohl's Corp. has responded strongly to consumer demand. Along with the Yorkville store, it opened three others in Illinois and 83 throughout the country this week.

Kohl's plans to open 15 more stores next month, for a total of 929 in 47 states. A 2004 survey of more than 1,000 Yorkville residents and business people showed Kohl's as the No. 1 desired retailer for the city, according to the Economic Development Corporation.

"This is something the residents of Yorkville have been waiting for for a long time. This is payday for Yorkville," Mayor Valerie Burd said.