There’s little doubt
the closing and relocation of Binny’s Beverage Depot from its location in Town
Center to Weiland and Lake-Cook roads in Wheeling will pull at the heart
strings of pundits who foresee doom and gloom for the retail environment in
Buffalo Grove.
You gotta love
social media.
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| Binny's new store at Lake-Cook and Weiland roads. |
The reality,
however, is that while Binny’s was an icon in the misguided retail edifice best
known as Town Center, the relocation is not a stake in the heart of Buffalo
Grove’s shopping.
Far from it.
While
Binny’s has been a mainstay, if not the mainstay, of Town Center, it does not,
according to Village Hall sources, rank in the top 10 in terms of sales tax
producers in the village. State law
prohibits municipalities from releasing revenues from individual businesses.
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| Binny's old location in Town Center |
So
what is at the heart of Binny’s moving to its new location in Wheeling? A lot
of speculation. It is safe to say, however, that the “blame” is not at the feet
of the village.
Two
key factors came into place – the management of two strip centers.
In one corner, Schwind
Crossing, managed by Quantum Real Estate Advisors, Inc. at the corner of Lake-Cook and Weiland roads
and, Town Center, managed by CTK Assets.
Staff
members at the Staples, now occupied by Binny’s, indicated that their original
plan was to downsize the store, but Quantum “made them an offer” they couldn’t
refuse. While it is not clear if the
offer was made before Binny’s was courted or Quantum wanted the space available
before approaching Binny’s, one thing is clear, there appears to have been an
aggressive plan to enhance an existing strip center.
Apparently
that was not the case with an effort to keep Binny’s in Town Center. The
parties involved, Binny’s and CTK have been mum about what was allegedly
negotiated. Rumors, to no surprise, ran
rampant. Allegedly Binny’s wanted “build
out” (expand) at its Town Center location, but reportedly CTK resisted and did
not want to accommodate a larger Binny’s.
Efforts
to contact Timothy J. Donohue, vice president at CTK by both email and phone
calls have been unsuccessful.
Donohue
is CTK’s point person for Town Center and has provided information in the past.
Efforts to contact him by most media have been unsuccessful. Which may be
indicative of CTK’s interest in the property.
It’s
interesting to visit CTK’s website CTK Partners and find only one listing under “Available
Spaces” in Buffalo Grove. And it’s not
in Town Center.
So
herein could lie the problem. A large
decaying edifice in a prime location that appears devoid of any aggressive
marketing to lease a glut of retail space.
With
Binny’s gone, there is now an additional 14,173 square feet of vacant space in
Town Center. The neglect of Town Center
is no secret. It was only after
communication with the village that the parking lot was repaired.
In
addition to being a retail eyesore, CTK appears to let vigilante tenants handle
management responsibilities. A recent item in the Buffalo Grove Police
Department reports about a parking issue at Town Center indicated that parking
enforcement was being handled by a tenant whose public relations skills are on
par with Attila the Hun.
The
mixture of an apparent lack of leasing efforts, combined with letting tenants
make management decisions does not bode well for the retail environment at the
Center, or, of course, in the village.
It
does, do say the least, put the village in a unique, if not difficult,
positon. While it is trying to enhance
and improve the retail activity, there’s little that can be done with Town
Center.
Except
wait.
But for what?
Wait
for the thousands of square feet of vacant space to be occupied?
Wait
for CTK and Town Center tenants to work to attract
customers?
Wait
for the ownership and management of Town Center to toss in the towel and
realize that the massive changes are needed?
The
waiting and lack of action do not seem to be doing anyone any good.
And
it has gone on long enough.
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