The Gurnee Village Board voted to approve a redevelopment agreement to renovate the former Sears Grand anchor at Gurnee Mills and prepare the roughly 65,000–66,000 square-foot space for a smaller-format global home furnishings retailer.

Jocelyn Gubler, vice president of development for Simon Property, told the board the site has been vacant since Sears Grand left and that Simon would invest about $6 million to ready the space. She said the retailer has been rolling out smaller-format stores and that the Gurnee location would be its tenth such U.S. store. “They weren’t gonna let deals online stop them from coming in,” Gubler said, describing steady mall traffic despite adverse weather.

Ellen (village staff) outlined the proposed incentive structure: a six-year agreement with the first two years as direct contributions (about $250,000 per year), years three and four a combination of direct contribution and sales-tax sharing, and years five and six consisting of sales-tax sharing only. The structure is intended to limit the village’s contribution to no more than one-third of the project’s improvement cost (capped at $2,000,000) and to begin sales-tax rebates in year three.

Staff and the developer said Simon’s initial work would be complemented by retailer investment; staff presented an estimated long-term upside in annual sales-tax receipts after the incentive period. The ordinance tied to the agreement is listed as Ordinance 2025-83. The board voted to adopt the ordinance at the regular meeting after the public hearing; roll call recorded trustees voting in favor and the motion carried.

The agreement approved by the board allows the village to rebate a share of sales taxes and to make direct contributions as structured in the six-year schedule. Staff said the rebate would be first-dollar sharing without an established base and that oversight of projections and proportional reductions would apply if construction costs differ from the estimates.

The redevelopment item will continue to the mall and to the retailer for the retailer’s own schedule and disclosures. The board indicated it will welcome the retailer publicly once the retailer confirms its plans and identity.