Kohl's King of Shorewood

An eagerly anticipated Kohl's department store should be open for business by October 2012 if everything goes according to plan.

The village board approved measures during its Tuesday night meeting to construct the Kohl's near Village Hall in an envisioned future shopping district.

"We call it the rebirth ... the rebirth of the Kohl's project in the Towne Center," said Trustee Gary Fitzgerald, who chairs Shorewood's Planning and Zoning Commission.

A deal to land a Kohl's store in Shorewood was initially struck in 2008 but "unfortunately it became a casualty of the recession," Fitzgerald said.

But by sticking with Shorewood, he said, the company made the village very happy.

"Everyone's very grateful that Kohl's had the confidence in the market and this town," Fitzgerald said. "They could have gone elsewhere but they chose Shorewood."

Along with the Kohl's store, which will be about a quarter smaller than the originally planned 87,000 square feet, will come improvements to Route 52 and about 100 new retail jobs.

Fitzgerald said the firm Granite Realty Partners of Northbrook "saved" the Kohl's deal.

"We're very excited to have this project brought back and rejuvenated," he said. "We think it's the real deal."

Fitzgerald also said the Kohl's project could be viewed as a beacon that might draw even more retail to Shorewood.

"Shorewood is definitely open for business," he said.

Mayor Rick Chapman lauded Kohl's for coming to the village.

"They are a visionary company," he said. "They really are."