More stores approved for Prairie Stone

Another batch of retail stores for the Prairie Stone Business Park was unanimously approved Monday by the Hoffman Estates village board.

A 42,000-square-foot Sports Authority is expected to open around June. A Chipotle Mexican restaurant, FedEx Kinko's and a Great Clips hair stylist would open later in 2008, sharing a 12,650-square-foot building. A drive-through Starbucks Coffee will also be part of a 6,235-square-foot building, with announcements on other tenants upcoming. The new businesses would be in the area of Columbine Boulevard and Route 59.

The park continues to draw development, as groundbreaking for a medical office building is scheduled for Thursday. A hotel and water park continues to be in the planning stages and could gain board approval later this year.

Signage continues to be an issue, as Trustee Gary Pilafas said last week some customers at the new Cabela's, which opened last week, had difficulty finding the outdoors store. The village is working with a marketing consultant to increase visability. On Monday, the village board also approved a master sign plan for Prairie Stone.

The Prairie Stone music amphitheater -- a new outdoor concert venue -- is also coming along. However, village board members have mentioned some living near the proposed theater are putting together a petition, saying it would be a noise nuisance. Prairie Creek and its 9,400 seats would be about half the capacity of the old Poplar Creek Music Theater that closed in 1995 in Hoffman Estates. Prairie Creek is scheduled for a May 2008 opening.