A representative from Pete’s Fresh Market reported Tuesday that the grocery store chain still could not confirm an opening date to Oak Park trustees, despite repeated delays and project extensions.
The project manager, Eugene Grzynkowicz, said he could not confirm a specific opening date, partially because the grocery store chain had not yet received a necessary building permit required to start construction.
Cameron Davis, the village’s assistant director of development customer services, said an application for a building permit related to the structure was submitted to the village, but incorrectly. They need to submit it again, Davis said.
Village officials, however, said they can turn around this type of permit within a matter of days or weeks.
The new grocery store at 640-728 Madison St. has been underway since 2018. Residents have expressed frustration at the continued lack of visible progress on the development. Pete’s has attributed the delay to utility work and other issues, such as a change in architect.
In January 2023, the village board of trustees approved an extension, changing the opening date to June 30, 2024. Trustee Lucia Robinson was the sole dissenting vote to the decision.
“I know for our residents, it’s extremely frustrating when the village has invested so much into this project,” trustee Brian Straw said Tuesday. “They are driving by an empty lot and not seeing any progress.”
The village board asked Pete’s to present regular updates about the development. Tuesday was the third update.
This year’s relatively light winter means the development may not need another extension, Grzynkowicz said, but the final date will likely be confirmed in March.
“The building itself should go pretty smoothly,” he said.
After construction, the building will also require an occupancy permit. This requires various village departments, including fire, health and development services, to ensure the building was constructed to plan, village officials said.
“They are behind, right, everybody knows that,” Davis said. “They are not going to have an occupancy permit by June 2024.”
The developers are also aware that because they did not receive a building permit before the end of 2023, they are subject to the village’s electrification ordinance for the new Pete’s. This ordinance requires all new construction to be fully electric with no natural gas hookups to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions. Grzynkowicz said they are looking into avenues to have the grocery store’s heating system comply with the ordinance.
The village donated part of the site to Pete’s, along with $3 million to purchase and tear down the former Foley-Rice auto dealership, also known as the Hill Motor Sales building, much to the dismay of historic preservationists.
Debbie Mercer, an Oak Park resident for 30 years, is one such preservationist. She was part of the “Save the Hill” coalition, a group that tried to prevent the demolition or have the building’s design incorporated into the new grocery store.
“I just think that parts of our past, especially in a village like Oak Park, should be saved,” she said. “Otherwise, you don’t know that it happened.”
The village also allocated $1.65 million to Pete’s for environmental remediation. Pete’s postponed work in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2021, work began on relocating underground utilities, but issues arose with Commonwealth Edison Company, or ComEd, and other companies.
Grzynkowicz said roughly $6.5 million has already been invested into the work done so far. Sheeting and excavation will take another roughly $2 million, as well as 30 and 60 days, respectively, to complete.
Mercer, who lives a block from the site, pointed out that the American House senior living complex across from the coming Pete’s was already completed. It was approved along with the new Pete’s in 2018 as part of a redevelopment agreement but managed to open in October 2022.
“I’ve been watching that vacant lot stay vacant, have nothing happen, grow trees and weeds,” she said. “[An] occasional porta-potty would show up.”
While not all residents were passionate about preserving the Hill Motor Sales building, many are probably not happy with the eyesore that’s been left behind, Mercer said. When it’s finally done, Mercer said, locals will generally like the new grocery store, especially the senior residents across the street. But she said some who are upset at the way this development was handled, like her, and might refuse to shop there.
“The village board seems to be giving Pete[’s], at least for the first two and a half years, a lot of benefit of the doubt and a lot of leeway,” she said. “Recently, I’ve read a couple of things where it sounds like they are starting to be frustrated too because they were expecting a lot of tax income from store.”
It was estimated in 2020 that the new Pete’s was expected to pay about $586,000 per year in property taxes, according to a Chicago Tribune article. With $35 million in annual sales, the store would contribute roughly $546,000 in sales tax revenue to the village, according to the 2020 article.
Another member of the “Save the Hill” coalition, Frank Heitzman, said the Hill Motor Sales building was one of the last significant remaining buildings on Madison Street. Despite presenting Pete’s with options to renovate and keep the essence of the building, the developers decided to demolish.
“We begged and pleaded with Pete’s, at the time, to save at least the façade,” he said. “We lost an important piece of architectural history.”
Heitzman said he does not understand what is taking Pete’s so long to complete construction, but he’s heard a lot of frustration from the whole village about the delayed development.
Trustees at Tuesday’s meeting also said it was unfortunate that Stephanie Dremonas, chief executive officer of Pete’s Fresh Market, was not present. Grzynkowicz said she was unable to attend due to issues with her child.
The first Pete’s Fresh Market location in Oak Park opened in 2015 at 259 Lake St.
