Demolition work making room for Woodman's at Stratford Square Mall
A former Macy's at Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale is coming down to make room for a new Woodman's Food Market.
Woodman's is planning to build a stand-alone grocery store on roughly 19 acres near the intersection of Schick Road and Gary Avenue. But before construction can begin on the 243,000-square-foot building, the shuttered Macy's and part of the mall beside it must be demolished.
Work on the demolition project started more than two weeks ago.
"They are moving along," Village Administrator Pietro Scalera said Monday. "I think their hope is to complete the demo really quickly and then begin the site work for the Woodman's."
Village trustees unanimously approved a planned development last September so Woodman's could bring a stand-alone grocery superstore to Stratford. The Macy's space had been vacant since the department store closed in March 2017.
Depending how long it takes to finish the demolition and site work, Scalera said it's possible construction on Woodman's could begin this year. If that doesn't happen, the walls will start going up early next year, he said.
Construction is expected to take 12 to 18 months, he said.
Once it's completed, the massive 24-hour grocery store won't be attached to the mall. It will feature a 2,300-square-foot car wash and two gas stations - one unattended facility and a fully staffed station with a convenience store and lube center.
Plans call for the Bloomingdale Woodman's to have roughly 136,000 square feet of shopping area; the rest of the building will be used for storage.
The Woodman's chain mainly operates in Wisconsin but includes stores in Carpentersville, North Aurora, Buffalo Grove and Rockford. Another Illinois location opened last week in Lakemoor.
Bloomingdale officials are confident the village's entire retail base will benefit from having a Woodman's in town.
"I think we're excited to have another new business because it will, hopefully, draw more traffic into Bloomingdale," Scalera said.