The Northcenter Trader Joe's plans to expand into part of the old CB2 space. Credit: Mike Fourcher

Trader Joe?s Prepares for Opening of Northcenter Expansion

The expansion of the Trader Joe?s located at 3745 N. Lincoln Ave. will be completed sometime in early July, says company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki. The grocery-store chain will add 4,000 square feet to its Northcenter store from the empty retail space next door that formerly housed a CB2. Mochizuki says the Northcenter store will clock in at around 15,000 square feet once the expansion is completed, and she also says more cash registers will be added.

CB2 moved out of its location next to the Northcenter Trader Joe?s in January. It had occupied that spot for 10 years.

Vote Slated for Ravenswood Station

Lincoln Square residents will get to vote on the proposed Ravenswood Station development project this week. The 140,000-square-foot project would be built on a Sears parking lot near Lawrence and Ravenswood avenues, and it would include a Roundy?s grocery store, a 50-foot-tall parking lot, and a health center that has yet to be determined. Pat Thompson, who?s with the law firm DLA Piper and is the lead attorney for the development, has said the retail part of the project could create nearly 300 full-time jobs and 150 part-time jobs.

Ald. Eugene Schulter (47) said planned upgrades for the Ravenswood Metra station will also be revealed at the May 27 meeting. A time and a location have not been announced yet.

Suspicious Package

A suspicious package found last week on the 2000 block of West Montrose Avenue turned out to be ?two soda pops? wrapped in newspaper, says officer Anne Dwyer of Chicago Police News Affairs. The unattended package was spotted near a mailbox around 4:08 p.m. on May 19. Dwyer says fluid was leaking from the package, which prompted the police department to dispatch its bomb and arson unit.

Vacation Rental Ordinance Scheduled for a Final Vote

The so-called ?nightly vacation rental? ordinance will be taken up for a final vote at the City Council?s Committee on License and Consumer Protection meeting on June 2, according the ordinance?s chief sponsor, downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42). The meeting is expected to take place at 11 a.m. in room 201A at City Hall.

Pat Clark, owner of Pat?s Place, says the ordinance will put her Northcenter-based nightly rental company out of business.

Tags: Alison Mochizuki, Anne Dwyer, Brendan Reilly, CB2, Chicago Police Department, DLA Piper, Eugene Schulter, Metra, Pat Clark, Pat Thompson, Pat's Place, Ravenswood Station, suspicious package, trader joe's, Vacation Nightly Rental Ordinance