Edens Plaza filler: Fitness center to fit right in; Walgreens to stay for a while

The owner of Wilmette’s largest shopping center is working out plans to fill the plaza’s last vacancy.

Officials announced Tuesday, March 11 during a meeting of Wilmette’s Village Board that WS Development, the Boston-based developer that owns Edens Plaza, will propose a new fitness center to fill the space that was previously home to Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Plans for the new fitness center inside Edens Plaza are set to appear in front of Wilmette’s Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday, April 2, Village Manager Michael Braiman said.

WS Development planners have been “studying for quite some time” how to make best use of the large space, Braiman said, noting that they then determined the fitness center would be the preferred option. The firm’s proposal will require special-use approval per the village’s zoning code, he added.

Braiman also told trustees that WS Development has been strategic in its thinking for the plaza and has had a “methodical approach to what’s going to make the most sense for Edens Plaza.”

Bed, Bath and Beyond announced in January of 2023 that it would be closing its Wilmette location, as first reported by The Record. Closure of the company’s store in Edens Plaza was one of nearly 90 that were announced that year. The company announced nearly 60 closures the year prior.

Part of WS Development’s proposal for the fitness center will include carving out a storefront in the front of the building for additional retail spaces, officials said during the March 11 meeting.

Plans to add a fitness center to the popular plaza at Lake Avenue and Skokie Boulevard align with WS Development’s vision of trying to turn Edens Plaza into more of a “lifestyle center,” Braiman said.

WS Development purchased Edens Plaza in late 2021 and has since largely transformed it with a series of new businesses and designs throughout. The large-scale mixed-use developer also recently announced plans for an additional three new businesses at the center: Uncharted, Flamant Nail Boutique and Just Salad.

Braiman estimated that the fitness center proposal could reach village trustees for review in late April or early May depending on how the zoning board’s deliberations play out.

Walgreens to stay for ‘several more years at least’

Amid a wave of national uncertainty following Walgreens multi-billion-dollar sale, village officials now have clarity that the town’s west-side location is here to stay.

Walgreens has extended its lease and will keep its location inside Edens Plaza for “several more years at least,” Wilmette Village Manager Michael Braiman announced during the March 11 meeting.

Braiman said that ensuring the west Wilmette location remained open was “something that’s been really important to the village.” Without Walgreens in Edens Plaza, residents on the west side of town would be left without a pharmacy option in that part of the community, Braiman noted.

“We really pressed WS and they heard us and made sure that we maintain that pharmacy on the west side of town,” Braiman said, noting that the national retailer “is in a great state of flux nationwide” and has recently announced the closure of many stores across the country.

Walgreens was acquired earlier this month by Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, in a $10 billion deal, according to a report from The New York Times.

Wayfair: ‘Exactly the outcome we were looking for’

The early results on what was perhaps the most anticipated local business opening in recent memory are playing out just as expected.

Braiman also noted during the March 11 meeting that Wayfair has “performed as one of the village’s largest sales tax generators” since its opening in May of 2024.

“(That) is exactly the outcome we were looking for,” Braiman said.

The two-story, 150,000-square-foot store in Edens Plaza is Wayfair’s first brick-and-mortar space.

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