Marshalls' commitment a welcome addition to village's retail community

It’s just one store, but it’s likely a welcome addition to Buffalo Grove’s retail landscape.

A sign announces the pending arrival of Marshalls at Woodland Commons

                Marshalls, a national retailer of, according to its website, “fashionable, brand name family apparel, home fashions and other merchandise,” is planning to open in late Spring or early summer of 2015.

                The 27,100 square foot store, located in Woodland Commons at Buffalo Grove and Half Day roads, is one of the few, if not the only national retailer in the village.  The occupancy was confirmed by the Inland Real Estate Corporation, which manages Woodland Commons.  Calls to Marshalls were not returned.

                The commitment by Marshalls to move to Buffalo Grove is an indication that there is an interest by major retailers in the village.  It does not, however, mean that a major development will be an overwhelming success. 

                Barring any changes in the coming year, Woodland Commons will have a 100 percent occupancy rate, a rarity in large suburban strip centers. Woodland Commons has more than 170,000 square feet of retail space.  Whatever Inland’s strategies are, they seem to be working.  The company manages a number of nearby strip centers including Rivertree Court and Hawthorn Village Commons, both in Vernon Hills and the Red Top Plaza in Libertyville.

                If the arrival Marshalls is an indication of a turn in the retail economy, the village could see some of the vacancies in strip centers, especially those along Dundee Road, become occupancies.

                But don’t, however, sit back and say “it’s about time the village did something” because the village is not a rental agent, nor does it develop business plans for businesses.  The village has offered incentives to developers, as it did to the interested developers of Cambridge Commons at Dundee and Buffalo Grove roads, only to find that 14 Dundee Road LLC had more excuses than actions for making the eyesore a viable retail center.  You’d think incentives totaling $1.1 million would be a kick in the butt for the developer to get things going. There's only so much the village can do.

                The challenge for the village is to find ways, besides offering financial incentives, to attract retailers.

                Again, that’s a challenge.  The village is not a shopping destination and establishing it as one will not happen overnight or by building a new downtown.

                This isn’t Dyersville, Iowa.  It’s going to take more than building it to make them come.

                That’s why the discussion of an Economic Development Commission at the July 28 Committee of the Whole meeting (OK, it’s a workshop meeting) was an encouraging sign.

                In the meantime, Marshalls is a welcome addition.

                But it’s just one store.

This is the first of a series examining economic development in Buffalo Grove.