Phase I of Stony Creek Promenade Nears Completion

Caption: “Build it and they will come.” The Village of Oak Lawn is banking on Mariano’s Fresh Market to attract the next crop of retail tenants for Phase II of Stony Creek Promenade.

In a few weeks area residents will be shopping at the new Stony Creek Promenade retail development. Water falls and a pond will appear shortly thereafter and pretty soon Oak Lawn won’t have to envy its neighbors in Orland or Evergreen Park.

Things have been going so well at the corner of 111th Street and Cicero Avenue in fact, that Mariano’s Fresh Market is opening way ahead of schedule.

“Originally the plan was to open in 2015,” said Paul Sheridan, a developer and partner for Hamilton Partners in Itasca. “Once we got going we found ourselves ahead of schedule.”

Divita and Associates, the Greenville, SC, engineering firm charged with construction, moved at breakneck speed once last winter’s polar vortex lifted.

“He was just on the ball,” Sheridan said. “For us to be able to accelerate our process is good for everybody and the village.”

When Mariano’s saw how quickly the building was taking shape, the superstar grocer aimed for a Sept. 9 opening.

“It was a crunch to get all hands on deck,” Sheridan said. “Grocery stores don’t want to open during the holiday season because it’s too frantic during that period. They want to open right before or after the holidays.”

Mariano’s, part of the Milwaukee-based Roundy’s Inc. retail grocery group, is bringing 400 jobs to the local area, 50 of those Oak Lawn hires.

Hamilton Partners has also prepared the site for the 10,000-square-foot Coopers Hawk Winery and Restaurant west of the 111th Street entrance. Coopers Hawk is looking to open in February.

While the rest of Phase I hasn’t been as accelerated, the smaller stores are on track for an October-November delivery to their retail tenants.

“They will do their buildouts and will open later this year or early next year,” Sheridan said.

Retailers and restaurants that have signed on so far to the development include casual fast dining restaurants Meatheads and Firehouse Subs, Great Clips, and Massage Envy Spa, which offers professional restorative massage services. The developer is also in negotiation with Starbucks.

“This is what the market represents right now and you always get what the market gives you,” Sheridan said. “We’ve reached out to everybody so all the retailers know it’s available. Is there room for a Kohl’s, a Ross or a TJ Maxx? We can fit a store like that on the site.”

The developer has also stepped up marketing for Phase II of the Stony Creek Promenade, securing Metro Commercial Real Estate, a leading commercial leasing agent out of Highland Park.

“We’ve hired them to drum up some good tenants for Phase II,” Sheridan added.

Metro is currently involved in shopping the vacant Evergreen Park Plaza at 95th Street and Western Avenue to potential retailers. An announcement of a developer for the ghost mall is forthcoming.

Meanwhile, Hamilton Partners is negotiating with another restaurant to lease one of the spaces in Phase I.

“Now were getting a lot of attention,” Sheridan said. “People have seen it. “We’re even more optimistic about Phase II.”

The 30-acre land tract is currently owned by the Village of Oak Lawn, with the option of hanging on to the property or selling it.

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