The anchor tenant for the development will be LA Fitness, with its 45,000-sf standalone building is scheduled to open this week, says Kevin Boyd, president of Interstate. Construction on the rest of the center is expected to begin in the second quarter of this year, with the center estimated to open in spring 2008. The retail center, with the exception of the LA Fitness, is being designed by Tinley Park-based architecture and design firm Aret3 Ltd.

Approximately 42,000 sf of retail will be constructed in two or three buildings, Boyd says.. Additionally, there will be two restaurant buildings, totaling 12,200 sf, and a George Washington Savings Bank. Lease rates and terms were not disclosed. The total value of the project is reportedly $28 million. "It is not going to be a typical strip center. It will be a little bit more aesthetic looking," Boyd says.

Letters of intent have been signed for approximately 20,000 sf of space, but Boyd says he could not disclose who had signed letters of intent but is in discussions with three separate child care facilities, a number of restaurants and "a major Downtown-type salon."