The Oswego Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval of site plans for a proposed HomeGoods store at Prairie Market East shopping center in the village.
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The Oswego Village Board will have the final say on the plans.
Prairie Market 24 LP proposes to build a 25,000-square-foot building for the retailer on a 9-acre site along Route 34 at Fifth Street at the shopping center.
The store would be located between two major tenants, Aldi and PetSmart.
The site is presently vacant, Oswego Village Planner Jeff Lind told commissioners.
“The approved building footprint for the subject property is 16,944 square feet, making the newly-proposed commercial building 8,056 square feet larger than originally approved,” he said.
Approval of a major planned unit development amendment is required for any increase in the gross floor area of a development by 5% or more. The proposed HomeGoods building exceeds a 5% increase in its approved footprint, he said.
The commission also recommended approval of the developer’s request for a wall sign larger than permitted by the planned unit development. The developer is seeking a letter height of 72 inches, which is larger than the maximum letter height of 48 inches that is identified in the planned unit development approved for the site in 2005.
HomeGoods will be a fine addition to the town, project architect Peter Theodore said.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Theodore said. “We are already in for permit and we are going to start the shell immediately and then come in with the HomeGoods interior build-out. … Hopefully we will be open by Christmas,” Theodore said.
Village staff has been working with Edgemark, a subsidiary of Prairie Market 24 LP, since it purchased the shopping center in September 2024. Village staff was notified last year by HomeGoods owner TJX Companies that previous plans to open in the former Lowe’s Garden Center in the Prairie Market shopping center had not progressed “due to the deal no longer being viable for the landlord,” village officials said.
TJX Companies then connected with Edgemark to revive its plans for opening a new store in Oswego at Prairie Market East, village officials have said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.