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Shopping

The Joliet shopping experience is about to diversify. Recent news on pending construction projects tells of a coming explosion in local shopping options. Developers like O&S Holding Corporation have unveiled plans to change the way people in Joliet and the surrounding areas spend their time shopping.

Don Fisher, planning manager for the city of Joliet, says O&S Holding Corporation will build a massive shopping complex “lifestyle center.” The project, called the Bridge Street Town Center, is scheduled to break ground at the northeast corner of Interstate 55 and Interstate 80.

“What's proposed there is a super-regional lifestyle center with about 1.2 million square feet of retail commercial space,” said Fisher. “The lifestyle center is a like an old downtown look, two to three stories high, first floor retail with department stores, a cinema, hotels and restaurants. It has open public areas, parkland areas...it's a great design.”

Construction is scheduled for the spring of 2009, but a road construction project must be completed first. “What has to be accomplished,” Fisher said, “is a new interchange at I-55 and Route 59 to access the site. The timing is tied to the construction of the new interchange.”

Today’s options in Joliet include a number of strip malls and shopping areas such as the shops on Jefferson Street, Essington Road and Plainfield Road. The indoor Westfield Louis Joliet Mall has been a fixture on Mall Loop Drive since the 1970s. The mall is adapting to keep up with the times. Don Fisher says the lifestyle center concept used on the Bridge Street project is already changing how local businesses approach the market. “The Westfield Joliet mall is redeveloping itself, putting a lifestyle center as an addition to its closed mall. There’s a new, stronger market here and the reason for that is Joliet being the 14th fastest growing city in the U.S.A.”

Even in a troubled economy, Joliet is making progress. “I think what is happening now is that there’s been so much growth in Joliet that there is a new retail market here,” said Fisher. “In the past it has been underserved.”

Fisher believes the Bridge Street town center and redevelopment projects to existing locations are important aspects of economic growth in the area. The town center concept is a proven business model in other parts of the United States; now it is Joliet’s turn to reap the benefits.

The interest in retail development in Joliet can only help local businesses, which have grown with the community—some for nearly a century. Turk Furniture, a central Illinois staple since 1885, is a business that has survived thanks in part to its ability to change with the times. Originally the furniture store sold men’s clothing and home furnishings, making deliveries with a horse and buggy. Today, Turk Furniture offers online coupons and an Internet catalog—a far cry from the days of the horse-drawn carriage service.

Another longtime figure on the business scene is Dan’s Homemade Candies. Dan’s has had only four owners since it opened in 1919. Current owner Richard Nelson took over the business in 1991, running it with his wife and daughters.

D’Arcy Buick Pontiac GMC hasn’t been around quite as long as Dan's Homemade Candies, but in the past 17 years, this new and used auto dealership has grown to include two locations and five franchises. The latest offering to be added to the D’Arcy Automobiles lineup came in 2006 with the addition of Pontiac.

These established businesses, along with many others, reap the benefits of Joliet’s status as America’s 14th fastest growing city. The Bridge Street project and Westfield Louis Joliet Mall expansion may provide extra competition for local businesses, but the creation of additional jobs and rising population will provide plenty of opportunities to go around for newcomers and longtime members of Joliet’s business community.