CRETE | Kohl's opened its new store near the intersection of Richton Road and Illinois 394 in Crete Sunday.

The chain has scheduled a grand opening celebration for the store for 7 a.m. Wednesday. The store is one of 47 new locations that the Wisconsin-based retailer is opening during the second half of 2008 to grow to almost 1,000 outlets, the company reports.

The 69,000-square-foot store, the smaller of the Kohl's formats, is the anchor of the 500,000-square-foot Crete Marketplace proposed retail center developed by TCB Development, of Tinley Park, and Reliance Capital Management, of Frankfort, Ill.

"We're very excited about the addition of Kohl's to the community and about the development as a whole," said Crete Village Administrator Tom Durkin. "We've been very fortunate Kohl's has chosen to invest in Crete."

The 100-acre development stretches from Steger Road to Richton Road on the east side of Ill. 394. The store will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Kohl' is the only current occupant of the multi-tenant development that is planned to include other retailers and restaurants. Although there are a number of prospective tenants, the current retail climate is delaying business expansion, Durkin said.

TCB and Reliance committed to spending about $11 million on site improvements for the center, including a 1,100-space parking lot, lighting and the installation of off-site improvements such as sewers, water connections and roads. A stop light was installed at the intersection of Ill. 394 and Richton Road to expedite entry into the center.