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4 | September 27, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot News<br />
newlenoxpatriot.com<br />
New Lenox eateries, retail development on the rise<br />
Megan Schuller<br />
Freelance Reporter<br />
Progress does not happen<br />
all at once. It is a combination<br />
of factors that unfold<br />
gradually, like pieces of a<br />
puzzle. In the past two years,<br />
New Lenox has seen a surge<br />
of interest in economic development<br />
while it strives<br />
to maintain the small town<br />
character it currently has.<br />
New business<br />
The village has seen a variety<br />
of more than 15 businesses<br />
open up recently.<br />
Among these new businesses<br />
are: Fleckenstein’s Bakery,<br />
Hickory Creek Brewing<br />
Company, Genesis Virtual<br />
Reality, Domino’s Pizza,<br />
Dunkin’ Donuts, a senior living<br />
community and Ridgeway<br />
Petroleum.<br />
The village has more<br />
planned for the upcoming<br />
year. Along Maple Street,<br />
Simon Phillips Hair Salon<br />
and Discovery Auto Sales<br />
is in the works. On Route<br />
Real estate<br />
on your mind?<br />
Call Sharon Ahrweiler<br />
at CRIS REALTY<br />
I can<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
815.263.2844<br />
ahrshar@aol.com<br />
SERVING THE LINCOLNWAY AREA<br />
FOR THE PAST 40 YEARS<br />
SharonAhrweiler.com<br />
1200 E. Lincoln Hwy<br />
New Lenox<br />
815.485.5050<br />
The CVS, located at 115 E. Maple Drive, is expected to open<br />
in November.<br />
30 the Village expects to see<br />
a Cooper’s Hawk Winery<br />
and Restaurants, a Chipotle,<br />
Mod Pizza and Pete’s<br />
Fresh Market. Other developments<br />
include a CVS<br />
Pharmacy on Maple Drive, a<br />
Plus One Cleaners on North<br />
Cedar Road, a Tractor Supply<br />
Company on Laraway<br />
Road, and the Silver Oaks<br />
behavioral Health Center on<br />
Pawlak Parkway.<br />
The 32nd location of<br />
Cooper’s Hawk Winery and<br />
Restaurants, which will be<br />
located on 2307 E. Lincoln<br />
Highway, is still under construction<br />
and slated to open<br />
next month on Oct. 29.<br />
General Manager Ed<br />
Hammer said that Cooper’s<br />
Hawk started in Orland Park<br />
12 years ago with their first<br />
location and has since expanded<br />
to other states, but<br />
they came to New Lenox<br />
to stay local to their homegrown<br />
roots.<br />
“It’s important to keep local<br />
to our Wine Club members,”<br />
Hammer said. “We<br />
feel New Lenox is a strong,<br />
up-and-coming community<br />
that will grow with us.”<br />
While some businesses<br />
are close to completion, others<br />
have just begun. According<br />
to Nancy Dye, Economic<br />
Development Coordinator<br />
for the Village, Tractor Supply<br />
Company will break<br />
ground this fall, east of the<br />
Jewel on Laraway Road.<br />
Currently the closest facility<br />
is in St. John, Indiana, so<br />
this location will alleviate<br />
travel time for customers in<br />
the area.<br />
“This is a perfect place for<br />
Chipotle and Mod Pizza will be new additions to New Lenox come December, according to<br />
the Village’s website. It will be located at 641 E. Lincoln Highway.<br />
Photos by James Sanchez/22nd Century Media<br />
that type of establishment<br />
because of the agricultural<br />
zoning and parcels that are<br />
south of there,” Dye said.<br />
“That’s why they chose Laraway<br />
Road. They know their<br />
customer base, and know<br />
where they’re coming from.“<br />
Mayor Tim Baldermann<br />
said that the new commercial<br />
development will benefit the<br />
community by adding additional<br />
tax revenue towards<br />
schools, parks, and village<br />
infrastructure projects to improve<br />
and maintain the quality<br />
of life, without putting an<br />
additional tax burden on the<br />
resident.<br />
“We always have a balanced<br />
budget but it’s nice<br />
to have those extra dollars<br />
to make improvements to<br />
our town. The quality of life<br />
is very important to us, and<br />
that is where we like to put<br />
our money at,” Baldermann<br />
said.<br />
Interchange leads to new<br />
growth<br />
Baldermann said the number<br />
one objective is to continue<br />
to provide needed amenities<br />
to residents while still<br />
maintaining the small town<br />
feel.<br />
“We like to keep new business<br />
closer to the highways,<br />
that way we get the benefit<br />
of that type of growth while<br />
we lessen the impact of traffic<br />
through our town,” Baldermann<br />
said. “There’s a lot<br />
of things we can do on the<br />
West and North ends of town<br />
near 355.”<br />
The I-80 and Route 30 interchange<br />
will be a propelling<br />
factor of growth in the<br />
community in the future, according<br />
to Baldermann.<br />
“We’re excited to see<br />
the state moving forward<br />
with the project to work on<br />
I-80 and the Route 30 interchange,”<br />
he said. “It will get<br />
cleaned up, be safe and will<br />
become more appealing to<br />
people driving down I-80<br />
and when they get off the<br />
interchange. Along with that<br />
comes redevelopment of that<br />
part of town.”<br />
Dye said the Village is<br />
very fortunate to see commercial<br />
development as major<br />
retailers scale back nationwide.<br />
“It’s just as important to<br />
recruit as it is to retain. They<br />
invested in New Lenox and<br />
we want them to stay here,”<br />
Dye said.<br />
Developing old sites<br />
The pro-business nature of<br />
the village’s government is a<br />
factor in why new businesses<br />
and developers chose New<br />
Lenox, Dye said.<br />
“That’s why we have the<br />
boom, if you will, that we<br />
do,” Dye said. “The businesses<br />
that come here are<br />
very happy with the probusiness<br />
environment.”<br />
Developers have approached<br />
the Village about<br />
making the old K-Mart an<br />
Please see Development, 7
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