For months, rumors have swirled that an Amazon grocery store will go on the site of the former Sears building at North and Harlem Avenues in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood. The property has been vacant since Sears closed in the summer of 2017. The likelihood of an Amazon grocery store going there appears high given recent developments in the Chicago area.
Judith Alexander, chair of the North Avenue District, mentioned the potential Amazon grocery store in the district’s Feb. 27 newsletter.
“It’s rumored that the national grocery to open in the North/Harlem site of the former Sears will be an Amazon concept store,” the newsletter read. “Such a store is going to open in Naperville.”
Last week, the Chicago Tribune reported that Amazon Retail LLC requested a Class D liquor license to sell goods at 3116 S. Route 59 in Naperville; a building permit in a window of that storefront listed Tucker Development as the property owner.
That same development company is handling the development of the Sears site in Galewood. After the store’s 2017 closure, Seritage, the spinoff of Sears’ real estate holdings arm, contracted Highland Park-based Tucker Development to redevelop the property.
Tucker Development Chief Investment Officer Aaron Tucker declined to confirm whether the site’s redevelopment plans included an Amazon grocery store, saying, “I have no comment generally on the project at this time.”
Alderman Chris Taliaferro (29th) could not be reached for comment; however, according to a representative from his office, the alderman does not know the identity of the company that will operate out of that retail space.
Wednesday Journal has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Chicago’s Planning and Development Department for documents related to the construction.
