W E D N E S D A Y
December 21, 2022 Vol. 43, No. 21
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JOURNAL @oakpark
of Oak Park and River Forest
Eye opening Africa Page 18
Closed Sears site to get $100M medical facility, grocery store Apartments, townhomes also part of the plan
Personal Best
By IGOR STUDENKOV & TREY ARLINE Contributing Reporters
Redevelopment plans for the site of the former Harlem and North Sears store and other nearby vacant land have expanded to include a 62,000-square-foot medical facility as well as a free-standing grocery store and some new housing. Developers and city officials attended a virtual community meeting about the redevelopment project organized by Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) on Dec. 14. Residents have waited years for the now-demolished Sears store to be replaced with new development. Plans for a mixed-use development fell through in 2020, and officials at the time promised a grocery store was coming. The pandemic has slowed the project, however. During the meeting, the developers of the property and two adjacent sites said a yet-to-be-finalized grocery
Larry Ritsert logs over 6,000 miles in 2022
STORY BY STACEY SHERIDAN, PAGE 17 ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
See SEARS SITE on page 13
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