LEMONT, IL-A wave of retailers are looking to open new stores in the Chicago area, and are either building new storefronts or redeveloping former boxes, according to locally-based Englewood Construction. The company recently agreed to complete five new projects, including three in Chicagoland, one in a St. Louis submarket and another in the Washington, DC area.

The new projects include new developments for Trader Joes on West Diversey in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, Advance Auto Parts on Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn, IL and Destination Maternity at Orland Park Place Mall in Orland Park, IL. The company is also building a Motherhood Maternity in Fairview Heights, IL (near St. Louis) and a build-out for a 20,000-square-foot American Girl store at Tyson’s Corner mall in McLean, VA, the first store for the doll retailer in the Washington, DC area.

Chuck Taylor, director of operations for Englewood, tells GlobeSt.com that there’s been a number of build-to-suit projects coming through Chicago. “One of the biggest waves has been the hhgregg electronics stores out of Indianapolis. I’ve seen them already take three former Circuit City sites,” he says.

Other retailers looking for space, new or preferably used (and cheaper), include Ross Dress for Less and children-focused stores such as Bye Bye Baby, Babies R Us and maternity chains, Taylor says. “Another segment that is putting together store deals is the auto parts stores, partly due to the bad econony. They claim that they’re getting customers because people aren’t going to mechanics, but instead are working on their own cars at home,” he says.

While he doesn’t see any large, mall-sized developments being announced in the next couple of years, Taylor says he sees a lot of moves to fill in existing space in the Chicago area. “Our best year was the beginning of 2008, before the faucet for construction was turned off around Labor Day. Going into 2011 we’re seeing those numbers again. I don’t know if it’s the cheaper rent making deals work, or the construction costs being at about a 10-year low, but we see a tremendous increase in activity going into 2011,” he says.