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Woodman's plans to build at Rts. 12, 120 in Lakemoor, village says

A tentative agreement to buy and develop a long-vacant 74-acre parcel at routes 12 and 120 in Lakemoor has been reached, village officials said Monday.

Wisconsin-based Woodman's Food Market Inc. is planning a 240,000-square-foot food store with a freestanding fuel station/convenience store/quick lube/car wash at the site that would employ 220 people, according to the village.

Preliminary plans show the grocer would use only a portion of the property for the estimated $40 million store and related uses in what is envisioned as a crucial step in unlocking other business growth along the busy roads in Lakemoor and Volo.

"This is definitely the first stone to be laid," Lakemoor Mayor Todd Weihofen said of what would be the tiny village's first grocery store. The property also includes space for a possible second big-box store and more than a dozen outlots for various other uses.

But there will be hurdles. Legal action regarding the Lakemoor's designation of the area as a special financing district will need to be settled before the agreement with Woodman's is struck. That agreement will outline what is expected to include Lakemoor's obligation to pay the bulk of the costs to extend utilities, estimated at $12 million for the Woodman's site.

Woodman's is an employee-owned and -operated business that began in 1919 as a produce stand in Janesville, Wisconsin. It operates 17 food and merchandise centers in Wisconsin and Illinois, including stores in Carpentersville, North Aurora and Rockford.

Woodman's will offer more than 100,000 items at the Lakemoor store, according to the village. On its website, the company said it distinguishes itself from other big-box competitors or chains by offering a large variety and lower prices.

"They are one of the few food retailers in the country that offer prices as low as or lower than Wal-Mart," said Jon Hauptman, a partner with Willard Bishop LLC, a Long Grove-based retail consultant.

The Lakemoor Woodman's would dwarf conventional supermarkets, which are about 45,000 square feet. Woodman's weekly sales of about $1.5 million are nearly four times that of conventional grocers, added Jim Hertel, senior vice president for Willard Bishop.

"They are big in every way you can measure a food retailer," he said. The company also has made a "major statement" with its assortment of natural and organic foods, Hertel said.

A Woodman's company representative was not available for comment Monday.

Preparing the site would include road upgrades estimated at $5 million, Weihofen said, and an extension of sanitary sewer and water lines and installation of storm sewers.

Officials for several years have been trying to change the village's image to a progressive player in terms of economic development. The busy corner has been the focus as a potential generator of big tax revenue and a high-profile project that could trigger other activity, but there is a way to go.

"It's been a lot of work. Remember, we don't have a shovel in the ground," Weihofen said.

There apparently is public interest, as a village Facebook posting Sunday garnered 1,081 likes and 1,782 shares in 20 hours.

"We've been amazed," village Administrator David Alarcon said.

The village has designated the area a tax incremental financing district - where additional property tax money that would have been distributed to local governments from the improved value of the property is funneled back into the development - but that action is being challenged in court by Wauconda Township and other entities.

@dhmickzawislak

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  Woodman's Food Market Inc. has reached a tentative deal to buy and develop a vacant site at the southwest corner of routes 12 and 120 in Lakemoor. Mick Zawislak/mzawislak@dailyherald.com
  Woodman's Food Market Inc. has reached a tentative deal to buy and develop a 74-acre parcel along Route 12 in Lakemoor. The proposal calls for a 240,000-square-foot food store with a freestanding fuel station/convenience store/quick lube/car wash. Mick Zawislak/mzawislak@dailyherald.com
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