A proposal for a huge Amazon retail store and a flagship Ashley Furniture store has been submitted to Oak Brook for development in the western portion of the village.
The project consists of a 22-acre site on property now occupied by seven low-slung office buildings at 2805-2907 Butterfield Road, some of which face Interstate 88. Those office buildings would be demolished to make way for a 225,000-square-foot-Amazon store, which is about 40% larger than the Costco store in Oak Brook. The Ashley Furniture store will be 150,000 square feet over two floors, just east of the Amazon store, said Oak Brook village President Larry Herman.
Herman said as part of the agreement, the developer would pay for an additional traffic signal intersection at the property and would dedicate “property for future westbound Interstate-88 access ramps at Meyers Road to facilitate traffic flow.”
Herman said the next steps will be for a Village Board referral of the proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a public hearing, after which the Village Board will consider final approval at a future meeting.
“The process is likely to take a few months, and if approved, we expect demolition could commence later this year, with construction throughout 2027,” he said, adding that the Amazon store will be entirely a retail store and not include an Amazon warehouse distribution facility.
Sales tax generated from these new stores would be significant to any governing body, but especially for Oak Brook, which does not levy a municipal property tax.
“Sales tax is the lifeblood that allows Oak Brook not to have a village property tax, and we expect this development — both Amazon and Ashley Furniture — to substantially increase Oak Brook’s total sales tax collections by several million dollars annually,” Herman said. “Equally significant is the potential for additional sales tax from anticipated future retail development that will be drawn to this stretch of Butterfield Road.”
The large Amazon retail store is a new concept for that company, which also plans to open one in Orland Park. The company said the stores differ from other large retailers such as Costco in that no membership fee is required to shop at Amazon. Herman doesn’t see that as something that will hurt business at Costco.
“The addition of Amazon will drive more retail sales throughout Oak Brook, including Costco,” he said. “We have already seen how the proliferation of restaurants is transforming Oak Brook into a regional dining destination that is boosting business for all restaurants.
“Costco has a distinctive sales model which is focused on a different merchandise set sold in bulk quantities. Costco focuses on high volume sales of a few items, whereas the Amazon model is based upon a substantially larger number of items.”
The Costco in Oak Brook has just started a multi-million dollar expansion and remodel, something Herman believes demonstrates its confidence in the future of Oak Brook retail.
He said village officials are thrilled that Amazon has selected Oak Brook to open one of its first stores of this kind in the country.
“Retail stores and restaurants continue to flock to Oak Brook for its premier location and shopping/dining experience, so it’s no surprise that Amazon wants to be here,” he said. “With the lowest sales and property taxes in the area, Oak Brook is an incredibly attractive location for both shoppers and retailers.”
Oak Brook village manager Greg Summers said Amazon has the data from its online sales to pinpoint ideal locations for stores and matches its product lines with local demand.
“This new store will be curated to the needs of our residents and visitors and perfectly complement our current retail offerings,” he said.
Herman said one of his goals since being elected in 2021 is to transform the office corridor along Butterfield Road between Midwest and Meyers Road into a retail center, calling the office buildings outdated and underutilized.
“Many of these buildings have suffered from decades of suburban office vacancy, post-COVID work trends, and will never again be economically viable as office space,” he said. Four of the seven buildings being torn down for this development had been taken back by the lender, Herman said.
He gave kudos to Summers and his staff for the work that led to making this new development proposal happen, saying they “have been actively working with property owners, developers and retailers to locate key properties and strong anchor tenants.”
“This project will be the catalyst for additional future development to provide retail continuity between the Oakbrook Center and Yorktown Mall, including with the retail presence that already exists on the north side of Butterfield Road in Oakbrook Terrace,” Herman said.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
