Fresh Thyme Farmer’s Market can get a permit to start improving the former Dominick’s grocery on North Avenue in River Forest store so long as it complies with conditions that have been attached to the company’s site plan application.
Following testimony and discussion, the River Forest Development Review Board on Aug. 20 approved the application with as many as 10 provisos, which were based on neighbors’ feedback and staff recommendations, said review board Chairman Frank Martin.
Permit plans are being reviewed by staff. Once the village signs off on the plans and the findings of fact are prepared and sent on the company, Fresh Thyme can get a permit — again only if it accepts the conditions.
Village trustees don’t have to vote on the application, but the company can ask them to reject some or all of the conditions if Fresh Thyme feels they are too burdensome, Martin said. Efforts to reach company officials were unsuccessful.
Anticipation of the opening of the store, at 7501 W. North Ave., has been growing since it was announced last year that the firm planned to renovate the site. Fresh Thyme announced in June that it would open on Feb. 24, 2016.
Martin said company officials told the review board last week that their intention was to get started as quickly as possible to meet that date. But if the company decides to appeal the conditions to trustees, there is no indication that would push back the opening date.
Conditions they will have to meet include:
Changing the location of the dumpsters. The plan shows they were in the southeast corner of the lot adjacent to a fence that abuts the store’s neighbor on the Jackson side.
Changing the fencing to match the cast-iron barriers used around Keystone Park.
Widening one of the driveway exits and entrances to comply with a request from the fire department.
Changing the height of the fence on the last 20 feet of each edge of the south property boundary to 4 feet so neighbors on Jackson and Monroe don’t have to look at an 8-foot fence.
Making sure the landscape plan and signage comply with village code.
Other changes would be needed to the lighting and the façade. Renovations can take up to 26 weeks to complete, Martin said.
Martin said neighbors who attended last week’s meeting liked the idea of a grocery store on the site, but had differing opinions about the changes that would need to be made to the property.
Company officials have said it will take a lot of work to get the site ready. The entire building will have to be gutted, and the exterior and interior will have to be turned from a Dominick’s Finer Foods into a Fresh Thyme Market.
The front elevation of the store will be redone from the ground up to the top of the façade to reflect the Fresh Thyme concept. The floors inside will be new and painted and sealed in the chain’s red stain.
Fresh Thyme was pegged as the best option for redevelopment by the River Forest Economic Development Commission. The former Dominick’s at 7501 North Ave. has been closed since late 2013 when its parent company, Safeway, abandoned the Chicago market.
River Forest officials hope a new grocery store could spark a revitalization of the entire North Avenue corridor and generate additional sales tax revenue. Based on the performance of other locations, Fresh Thyme is projected to have sales of $11.7 million in the first year, and sales are expected to increase by 5 percent from year one to year two.
The new store will generate $400,000 in sales tax annually, based on the performance of its other locations.