• MaggieMoo's International, LLC, a franchiser of ice cream stores that feature premium ice cream made fresh daily right at the store, will open a 1,300 sf location. The chain currently has about 100 stores open or under development and has one open locally in Lincolnshire.

• Electronics Boutique will open an EB World store featuring electronic games in 1,200 sf.

• Claire's Store Inc. will take 1,200 sf for its jewelry and accessory store geared to teens and young adults.

• Nextel Communications is taking 1,500 sf for a cellular services store.

San Diego-based OliverMcMillan is the real estate development company that is owner-developer of The Glen Town Center and was selected for the job by the Village of Glenview. The retail portion will total 470,000 sf.

Don Owen, Economic Redevelopment Director of The Glen for the Village, recently discussed the economic predictions for The Glen Town Center. It is expected to generate between 700 to 1,000 new jobs. The Glen Town Center is part of a TIF district, the largest in the U.S.

Owen told GlobeSt.com that ultimately the payoff from The Glen for the Village is quality of life. "That's job one for this development. It always has been," says Owen. "Whatever happens on this property should improve Glenview and make it a better place to live." He went on to say that it's going to be the kind of place where people can get away from the mall experience.

The second payoff is what are the dollars? That's the long-term payoff to the community as a whole. Over a 20-year period, that should total about $140 million for the Village of Glenview in terms of property taxes. That sum is basically double the amount of the value of property taxes that they had to spend to initially start the project.

The third payoff is the sales tax. About 1% of sales comes directly to the Village. The Village expects to collect roughly $1 million in property taxes per year.