New proposal to be presented for Jefferson Park site previously planned for a Trader Joe’s 

by BRIAN NADIG

Alderman James Gardiner (45th) will hold a Sept. 2 community meeting on a new redevelopment proposal for the former CVS Pharmacy site at 6200 W. Higgins Ave., where a deal to build a Trader Joe’s fell apart.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the Branch Community Church, 6125 W. Foster Ave.

Details of the new proposal have not been released, but it presumably would include a retail food operator given the alderman’s recent statement that his priority remains having a grocer on the former CVS site.

The property is being held under 6200 Higgins LLC, whose owners reportedly operate Farmer’s Best Market stores and also have bought and sold grocery store or pharmacy sites. Farmer’s Best stores are located at 6420 W. Fullerton Ave. and 23 W. North Ave., Northlake.

“The meeting will be an open and transparent forum where you can learn more about a new proposal and share your feedback,” Gardiner said in a recent letter to residents. “I appreciate your ongoing engagement and commitment to helping Jefferson Park reach its full potential. My office looks forward to hearing your thoughts and working together to better shape the future of our community.”

Plans to build a Trader Joe’s grocery store on the site fell through due to costs related to environmental issues, according to Gardiner.

“It’s very unfortunate, but our first priority will continue to be a reputable grocery store there,” Gardiner said.

Trader Joe’s was planing to purchase the property, but a disagreement “over costs” ended the deal, Gardiner said. In May the City Council rezoned the property to accommodate the planned Trader Joe’s.

At least a dozen environmental tests have been done on the property, and there is believed to be an underground oil tank on the site, Gardiner said. The tank poses no threat to the area, and it is not clear if the tank would have to be removed, he said.

However, the possibility of more testing and other associated costs with addressing environmental issues on the site ultimately led to the unraveling of the purchase agreement for the property, Gardiner said.

There was a gas station on the site in the 1950s, but it is believed that the oil tank was put in after the station closed for a later business, Gardiner said, adding that “it’s not a fuel tank.”

“(Trader Joe’s) loved the site. They really wanted it. That’s their words,” Gardiner said.

Under the plans for Trader Joe’s the site’s existing structure would have been replaced by a new 15,500-square-foot store. The parking lot would have had 108 spaces.

The site’s most recent occupant was a CVS Pharmacy, which closed in 2022. Another nearby CVS, located at 6417 W. Higgins Ave., is about two blocks away and remains open for business.

In the 1960s the site was home to a Kroger grocery store and in the 1970s a Dominick’s before an Osco Pharmacy moved in, followed by CVS, according to Northwest Chicago Historical Society researcher Frank Suerth..

This is just part of today’s coverage. Get the full story - every article, every ad, every page. Subscribe now.

The Latest From Our Community