Grand Openings Scheduled At Town & Country

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – The dust is settling as the much-anticipated redevelopment of Town & Country Center in Arlington Heights takes shape with the November openings of two major retailers.

Jo-Ann Superstore will open its doors to shoppers on Friday, November 4th, with a gala grand opening celebration planned for the weekend of Nov. 10th, 11th and 12th.  Ashley’s Furniture Home Store is expected to open the same week.

Dick’s Sporting Goods, a sports and fitness retailer for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, will open in early summer of 2006.  Several smaller retailers, including Great Clips, will be ready for business next year.

“Arlington Heights is a great community,” said Mark Schroeder, Vice President of Leasing for Visconsi Companies, Ltd., owner of the shopping center located at the corner of Palatine and Rand Roads.  “We are very excited to finally bring to fruition our vision for this center and restore Town & Country to the prominence it once held.”

Visconsi, is a third-generation, family-owned real estate developer and management company headquartered near Cleveland, Ohio with a shopping center portfolio of 3.1 million square feet of retail property.  Town & Country, built in 1981 according to village officials, was purchased by Visconsi in 1999.

The $17 million renovation at the center began in late May when the middle portion of the center, occupied by a mall and a long-vacant theater, were demolished.  Rising from the dust will be a 50,000-square foot Dick’s Sporting Goods store along with approximately 9,000 square feet of specialty retail shops.

Jo-Ann Superstore, a large specialty retailer of fabrics and crafts, will be located where the former Lord & Taylor Clearance Center stood for many years.  Ashley Furniture will take the place of the former Service Merchandise. 

Long-time tenants Best Buy and Marshall’s have remained open at the center throughout the renovation as well as Old Country Buffet, Dominick’s and Walgreens which will be remodeled with new facades.  Other improvements will include parking lot resurfacing, new landscaping and outdoor lighting.

Completion of the project, which was assisted by tax increment financing from the village of Arlington Heights, is expected next summer.  For more information on the redevelopment or for leasing information, contact Mark Schroeder at (216) 464-5550.