Woodman's in Lakemoor on track to open Labor Day weekend
When Lakemoor village officials visited the Woodman's Food Market site at the southwest corner of routes 12 and 120 in October, the foundation to support the cavernous building was just being poured.
Now with the building and a gas station/oil change facility taking shape, the pending opening of the supersized center is a reality that can be grasped.
"We're on schedule to open Labor Day weekend," said Mike Mitchell, construction site superintendent.
That's good news for Lakemoor, where the village the last 10 years has been working to reinvent itself as being more than a tiny, sleepy backwater on Lily Lake.
"When the new administration took over in 2009 and set their goals, this was the final goal," Village Administrator David Alarcon said Monday during a visit to the Woodman's site.
Drivers in the heavily traveled area have watched in recent months as the terrain was shaped and the giant building - 244,171 square feet, or more than five acres, under roof - emerged as a focal point on the blank, flat landscape.
"Just the assembly of the walls was amazing," Alarcon said of the assembly-line installation of dozens of towering precast concrete wall panels. "With one truck leaving and another coming in, it was very well coordinated," he added.
Alarcon found a beehive of activity Monday hidden behind the imposing gray exterior walls, with about 50 workers from various trades tending to a multitude of tasks, such as laying porcelain tile and prep work in advance of installing a drop ceiling.
Exterior building work is in progress and other work continued on the 22-acre site, which had to be raised three to eight feet, depending on the location. A sewer line has been extended and work on extending municipal water is nearly complete.
"It's (sewer) been sized to accommodate all the (anticipated) development in the area, especially to the south," said Matt Dabrowski, Lakemoor's director of community and economic development.
The village has been approached about other potential projects nearby, but there's nothing concrete yet, Dabrowski added. Woodman's also is expected to spark activity across Route 12 in Volo to the east.
In the meantime, excitement is building for the Woodman's opening later this year.
"I get more hits when I post something on Facebook about Woodman's," said Lake County Board member Judy Martini, whose district includes Lakemoor and Volo. "People are excited about it."
A legal challenge brought against Lakemoor by Wauconda Unit District 118, Wauconda Township and Wauconda Area Library regarding the village's designation of the area as a special financing district continues, with a status conference scheduled for April 26.