NAPERVILLE, IL-Construction has begun on the 270,000-sfSpringbrook Prairie Pavilion, at 75th Street & Fort Hill Dr.The retail center is being developed by Bond Cos., with offices inChicago and Los Angeles, and Hinsdale, IL-based MDC Properties. Theestimated cost of the project is approximately $64 million, saysRob Bond, president of Bond Cos.

The development is being constructed on a 27-acre parcel at thenorthwest corner of 75th Street and Fort Hill Drive. Bond Cos. hadbeen looking in Naperville for a suitable location for Whole Foods,which was the first anchor the developer secured and will lease50,043 sf at the retail center, Bond says. “We had to find them akey location which gave them proper positioning with their Wheatonstore,” he says. Bond Cos. liked the location because it is nearRoute 59, Interstate 355 and Ogden Avenue.

The center is currently between 60% and 70% preleased, Bondtells GlobeSt.com. Besides Whole Foods, tenants at the center willinclude Loehmann's, Cost Plus World Market, HomeGoods and BuffaloWild Wings. Nordstrom Inc. recently signed a lease for 37,271 sffor a Nordstrom Rack store. A sporting goods store will also be atenant at the retail center, but Bond said he could not disclosethe company at this time, except to say that it is a running andactive lifestyle store. The asking lease rate for the smallerretail spaces is between $25 per sf and $45 per sf, net, Bond says.Bank of America and Chase both have ground leases for out-parcelson the site. Bond says they have tried to have retailers that are“not in the trade area currently” and that bring a sense of“uniqueness” to the center. “We have tried to merchandise this interms of looking at holes in the marketplace,” he says. “There isno dearth of retail along Route 59 in Naperville.”