Dormant Grocery Store In Joliet Coming Back To Life?

JOLIET, IL — One of Joliet's most exciting economic redevelopment projects announced four years ago, the opening of an El Guero grocery store at the shuttered Certified Warehouse property, 118 East Jackson St. on the city's east side, never came to fruition during the second term of Mayor Bob O'Dekirk as he envisioned.

Or, will it, still?

Now, during O'Dekirk's final month as mayor, the city's economic development committee will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday on the second floor of City Hall; to discuss extending the tax incentives for the suburban Chicago supermarket company, El Guero.

More than four years ago, Joliet's now-retired economic development director, Steve Jones, revealed that El Guero would occupy the former Certified Warehouse next to the ABC Supply company on East Jackson Street.

The Joliet City Council followed Jones' lead and approved millions of dollars in tax incentives for El Guero to gut the vacant building and open its new grocery store here.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, Joliet's current economic development director Cesar Suarez will ask the economic development committee to update the tax incentives for El Guero — with an expectation that El Guero will actually be open by April 1, 2024.

The Joliet Council previously approved tax incentives for El Guero in February 2019, but those tax incentives expired on June 1, 2021, because the project never got off the ground.

According to the Suarez memo, the following incentives were previously approved:

• Property Tax Rebate – 50 percent, 5 years – increment expected $4,456, valued at $22,280.
• Sale Tax Rebate – 75 percent for 1 to 3 years, 50 percent for 4 to 15 years, valued at $1,156,000.
• Building Permit Waiver – 100 percent waiver, valued at $90,000.

Other incentives approved by partners in 2019 included:

• City Center Partnership - $100,000 catalytic grant; t expired June 30, 2021.
• Will County, School District-204, and School District-86 – each providing a 50 percent over 3 years property tax abatement

This week's memo from Suarez includes the following recommendations from Joliet's economic development director, who is nearing his one-year anniversary with Joliet's City Hall:

• Approve the request to amend the Incentive Agreements in Resolutions 7361 and 7262 to extend the completion and occupancy date from June 1, 2021 to March 31, of 2024.

"This recommendation is based on the understanding the proposed development was interrupted and delayed by Covid-19," Suarez wrote. "After the agreements were approved by Council on February 19, 2019, they purchased the property on March 27, 2019.

"Subsequently, plans were made with an architect to design the improvements, develop site plan and floor plans, and obtain bids. The construction start time ran into and was interrupted by the pandemic. The Garcia family also directed their attention in running their family-owned business to operated six grocery stores in the midst of Covid-19.

"Further delays continued in the construction industry due to supply chain disruptions and material shortages in building materials," Suarez concluded his memo.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Joliet Lures Grocery Store To Old Certified Site

Grocery Store For Joliet's East Side? Terry D'Arcy Reveals Best Spot

Joliet's 2 Certified Foods Stores: What's Happening Now?