Rumors that a home decor store and a new marijuana dispensary are opening soon in Norridge are premature, Trustee Jack Bielak said last week.
However, developers are demolishing the former Putting Edge and Bed, Bath and Beyond on Harlem Avenue to create new spaces that are less massive and more marketable in order to attract single-story retail stores, Norridge Building Commissioner Patrick Gorski said.
“The old Putting Edge and Bed, Bath and Beyond had a lot of void space that was not desirable to retailers to come in,” Gorski said. “These units will be built out like the current Amazon Fresh, Ross (Dress for Less) and Bob’s (Discount) Furniture (and Mattress Store).”
Developers are demolishing existing structures between, but not including, the former HH Gregg/Spirit Halloween, both at 7100 Forest Preserve Drive, and Super China Buffet, 4125 N. Harlem Ave., Gorski said.
“The plan is to open single-floor retail spaces there,” he said. “They do not have buildout plans yet, so a HomeGoods is not confirmed. I don’t know where you heard that. It’s not true, though. The Building Department doesn’t even have a buildout yet.”
Trustee Debra Budnik also confirmed that the village has not yet approved the opening of a home decor store in Norridge, despite talk on social media.
In Norridge, developers are demolishing some massive retail and recreational spaces, as at right, to make room for more marketable medium-sized spaces that they hope will attract retailers. The building at left, which housed the former HHgregg appliance store, will remain.
“I have not heard of a HomeGoods opening,” Budnik said. “There is no plan yet that I know of.”
Bielak, chairman of the Village Board’s Law & Ordinance & Economic Development Committee, said talk of such a store coming to Norridge is “speculative right now.”
“We would love for that,” he said. “It would be awesome. Right now it’s really the developer just making the property more attractive to any future tenants.”
Meanwhile, Bielak said an application for a proposed marijuana dispensary near Harlem Avenue and Irving Park Road is pending.
“It hasn’t been approved,” he said. “They’re still going through all the licensing requirements and building stuff. There has been a (plan) submittal, but it’s not necessarily opening up.”
Bielak said it is difficult to determine exactly how long the approval process will take for such a business, because the developer must meet certain conditions established by the state.
“Unfortunately, it’s not even us driving the process,” he said. “With any of the submittals for development of this kind, we do not want to get too far with the village when we know they have a lot of permitting and licensing requirements with the state.”
Such businesses also must locate in zoning areas specifically identified by Norridge, Bielak said.
“After many hearings, we approved our cannabis districts,” he said. “It would have to fit within there.”
Norridge recently approved two amendments to its cannabis zoning district to make it easier for developers to identify available parcels, Bielak said. The changes did not affect the boundaries of the zoning district, but were simply clarifications for identifying property index numbers (PINs), he said.
“It was not an expansion; it was a clarification,” Bielak said. “We tried to do it using zoning PINs. Because we had issues with the county, it kept changing, so we tried to narrow it down to geographic location. Literally, nothing changed. We were just clarifying what the district is.”
Bielak said the name of the proposed dispensary has not yet been determined.
“That has also been the subject of something going on with the state with the naming,” he said. “I know it is not confirmed yet.”
Norridge officials are excited about the chances of filling the vacant parcels at Harlem and Irving Park, Bielak said.
“HH Gregg and Putting Edge have been off the rolls a minimum of two or three years,” he said. “They were either fully shut down or very, very slow.”
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