JOLIET – H&M Group, the worldwide clothing retailer with more than 3,200 stores, is coming to Joliet.
The company will open one of its H&M stores in the Louis Joliet Mall before the Christmas holiday shopping season, Mayor Thomas Giarrante said Thursday.
Sporting goods retailer Sports Authority also will open later this year in one of the strip malls outside the mall, Giarrante said.
The arrival of the two major retailers reflects a recent surge of retail and restaurant activity in the city, the mayor said.
“The mall is doing very well,” he said. “We have six new restaurants, although they are fast food, opening up. We have a gentleman opening up The Department [location] downtown.”
H&M will open up a 23,000-square-foot store in the mall. The company, based in Sweden, has stores under six brands with H&M being its most recognized store. The company is in a growth mode and has said it plans to open up 375 stores this year.
Sports Authority will go into the one-time Kmart location, which most recently operated as MyGofer.
The space in the Louis Joliet Pointe shopping center is currently under reconstruction.
Fresh Thyme Markets, a grocer specializing in fresh foods and organic products, also is going into the former Kmart spot and plans to open in 2015.
Meanwhile, Giarrante said, there is more activity in downtown Joliet in addition to the reopening of The Department location, as a new restaurant named Juliet’s and plans to open another restaurant to be named Lockdown.
Giarrante said a developer is meeting with city officials to discuss redevelopment of the Hotel Plaza location on Clinton Street across from the Joliet Public Library.
The plan is to gut the existing building and put in apartments, he said. The potential developer has not yet acquired the property, Giarrante said, but, “We’re very close.”