Joliet commission approves Costco development plans

The Costco store planned for a Plainfield-Joliet development would anchor what was being described Thursday as a pedestrian friendly lifestyle center planned for stores, outdoor dining, nearby apartments and more than 50 acres of open space.

The Joliet Plan Commission approved a final plat for The Boulevard, which would be developed at the northwest corner of the Interstate 55 and Route 30 interchange.

A lawyer for the landowner said the plan is to begin construction by August and have the first store open in 2020.

The first store is expected to be Costco, which would open on the Plainfield side of the 171.5-acre development.

The project includes 150 acres in Plainfield and 21 acres in Joliet.

The Plainfield Plan Commission meets Tuesday to consider its side of the final plat.

“We’re excited about this opportunity. It is a live one,” attorney Russ Whitaker, representing landowner 55/30 Acquisition LLC, told the commission.

He said the plan is develop “pedestrian friendly” retail and restaurants with storefront windows and outdoor dining.

Whitaker said the first business to open would be a wholesale store. He would not name the store, but others did.

Plans submitted to Joliet list Costco in a big-box location on the development.

Joliet Director of Community Development Kendall Jackson referred to a Costco store in a presentation to the commission. So, did Devin Lavigne, a planner working for 55/30 Acquisition.

Costco has been mentioned as a possibility since The Boulevard was first proposed.

That was “a decade ago,” Whitaker noted.

“We all know in 2007 the music stopped,” he said. “All forms of development halted with the Great Recession.”

Whitaker said there is new interest in developing the property.

The site would extend from Route 30 along the CN railroad tracks to Renwick Road. A road called The Boulevard would run from Route 30 to Renwick with the apartment buildings located near Renwick.