A two-story rooftop parking lot, beer and wine sales, and at least 5,000 more square feet of floor space are among the hopes of executives at ALDI, the discount grocery store at 25 Lake St.
But ALDI isn’t the first to realize expanding in land-locked Oak Park isn’t so easy.
“In order to get new and improved, we would have to put the parking structure on top,” said Waden Weinzirl, vice president of the ALDI’s Batavia division, which covers Oak Park and Chicago. “The village has been initially supportive, which is good.”
The international retail giant operates nearly 800 stores nationally, and more than 5,000 worldwide. Tentative plans for the Oak Park store would make it ALDI’s first in this country with a rooftop parking deck.
ALDI has met with the Village of Oak Park, bringing preliminary designs to the development review team in December. Weinzirl said the Oak Park store is much too small, not allowing them to stock 70 core products, let alone the “special purchase” items such as apparel and small appliances.
The village would lease 30 spaces from ALDI that would be used for overnight permit parking, said Bob Clements, village redevelopment manager. He said that area has the greatest need in the village for overnight parking.
Talks have involved design elements the village would want to see before the project entered the planned development process, and whether those requirements would meet ALDI’s budget.
“We’re trying to avoid blank walls, for example,” Clements said, adding that the village would like to see beautification elements on the garage like those on its own Avenue parking deck.
“We want to have a nice store,” Weinzirl said, adding that the company is in the process of redesigning all of its stores, but that ultimately it will be a matter of cost.
Clements said there had been no discussion of village financial assistance to achieve the higher design standards.
The project is too preliminary to attach a timeline, but an ALDI representative in January told Oak Park’s Liquor Control Review Board that he hoped construction could begin in the fall.
Weinzirl said the store would expand its 10,800-square-foot space to over 16,000 square feet. More room would mean more products, especially refrigerated items, and, he hopes, more customers.
Wine and beer sales are relatively new to ALDI. The retailer has begun introducing the products only within the past two years. “I understand the concern,” Weinzirl said, but the concept has been successful elsewhere.
The store would not sell hard liquor or refrigerated or single-serving-size containers, instead marketing to attract new customers with imported wine and beer.
“When somebody’s building a meal, they’ll look to beer and wine to complement their meal,” Weinzirl said.
Sales of alcohol usually make up 2 percent of total sales, according to minutes from the liquor board meeting.
The village’s liquor ordinance allows just one license per district outside of downtown Oak Park, and the Dominick’s at 259 Lake St. already has one. So an ALDI license would need special approval.
As with all of its products, ALDI beer and wine products would be sold using the company’s own brands at discount prices.
ALDI, founded in 1948 in the German town of Essen, is short for Albrecht Discounts after brothers and co-founders Theo and Karl Albrecht, who still own and operate the company. Revenue for 2004 was estimated at $37 billion.
Lease of parking spaces from ALDI would need village board approval, however the property is zoned commercial, so the store could built “by right,” or without seeking public input, Clements said.
Jim Slama, a member of the East Central Oak Park Neighborhood Association, has called for making improvements on Lake Street near Austin Boulevard. He had not heard of ALDI’s plans on Monday when interviewed, but said neighbors would want a “seat at the table” as the process progresses.
“Our sense is that many people in east central Oak Park would like to see that entire stretch reflect the vibrancy of a retail street close to public transit and that it really reaches its full potential,” Slama said, adding that he would like to see a village-funded master plan done for the area.
Asked whether the improvements to ALDI would be the type the village would want for the corridor, Clements said the store is planning a significant reinvestment in its property.
“The village is always happy to see that.”
CONTACT: dcarter@wjinc.com