Dominick's Demolition Begins Prairie View Plaza Redevelopment

MORTON GROVE, IL — A long-vacant grocery store at the Prairie View Plaza has been demolished as the new owners of the shopping center at Waukegan Road and Dempster Street. Demolition of the former Dominick's began late last month in the Morton Grove, five years after the store shut its doors for good, Pioneer Press reported.

The plaza was purchased for $11.3 million last September by Oak Brook-based Kensington Development Partners and IM Properties, a U.K.-based commercial real estate firm IM Properties.

The 310,000-square-foot shopping center's current tenants include Dollar Tree, LA Fitness, The Salvation Army and furniture or mattress stores, with more than a third of the center's retail space reportedly vacant at the time of its sale.

Its new owners said the 26-acre property has potential for becoming a mixed-use development with the addition of multi-family residential, senior living, hotel, service, entertainment, fitness or medical uses.

After a village inspection turned up multiple code violations and needed repairs, the new owners decided to demolish the building rather than fix the problems, Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski told Pioneer Press.

Although no other demolition permits have yet been requested, the new ownership plans to eventually rebuild most of the shopping center as part of its redevelopment, according to Czerwinski.

The developers have said the Starbucks and standalone Bank of America parcel on the northwest corner of the parking lot are expected to remain in place.