Amazon gets approval to build massive retail concept in Orland Park

Amazon is set to open what it calls the “first-of-its-kind” retail store in Orland Park after receiving the final approval from the village’s board on Monday night.

The estimated 230,000-square-foot store at 9600 159th St. will offer shoppers general merchandise, household items and groceries. An Amazon Prime membership won't be required to shop there and it will offer pickup areas and online order integration. There will also be about 800 parking spaces.

The project spans 35 acres and includes the former Petey's II restaurant, which shuttered in 2024 and will be demolished during construction.

Amazon doesn't yet have a name for its retail concept but said in a statement that it expects to open in late 2027 at the earliest.

Some residents expressed concerns about the massive project, saying the approval process was too quick and that the development would create more traffic in an already congested corridor. But attorneys for the village said officials followed the rules regarding notifying the public of the proposed development.

"The timeline from initial public awareness to potential board approval feels unusually fast for a project of this size and permanence," resident Michael Sipple said during the public comment period. "Releasing a lengthy FAQ just hours before a potential vote does not allow for sufficient time for residents to review and respond, particularly for [a] development that will permanently alter that major corridor and has only been under public review for a few weeks.”

The village posted a message on Facebook Monday at 2 p.m., a few hours before taking a vote, that answered residents’ questions about the project.

Orland Park first announced on Jan. 3 that Amazon was proposing a development at the southwest corner of 159th Street and LaGrange Road. "Projects like this have the potential to generate substantial sales tax revenue that directly benefits residents while strengthening one of our most important corridors,” Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge said in a news release at the time.

The project went through a two-week long approval process, including two meetings where public comment was encouraged.

The village's Plan Commission voted 6-1 to approve the development, during its Jan. 6 meeting. That sent the project to the Committee of the Whole on Monday and then to the Board of Trustees, who voted in the evening.

“It shouldn't shock anybody that 35 acres of vacant property … in a place like Orland Park is of high interest to a retailer, and this is a private sector transaction,” Dodge said during Monday's meeting. “This is not village expenditures.“

Representatives for the village didn't return requests for comments.

Of the 11 residents who spoke during the public comment session, five urged the board to delay approving the project.

“I recognize this request may be futile because by all appearances this decision was already made,” resident Joe Soleksaid said. “How does a 230,000-square-foot industrial concrete structure serve as a welcoming entrance to our community?”

Solek had created an online petition to pause the vote so community members could have time to share their opinions. The petition had 533 signatures, as of Monday

The village’s elected board — consisting of Dodge, the village clerk and six trustees — expressed support for the project, though two trustees voted to delay the project.

Amazon expects to create 500 jobs and about half will be full-time roles. About 200 temporary construction jobs will also be created.

More than half of the building will house the store's back-of-the-house operations. Amazon said the space will not be used as a warehouse or fulfillment center for its e-commerce operations.

As part of its approval, Amazon will also construct sidewalks around the development.

Dodge said in Monday's meeting that long-awaited traffic abatement plans will be able to come to fruition, due to sales and property tax revenue from the development.

A traffic study conducted by Amazon showed that even with planned improvements, traffic in the area would rise about 5% to 6% by 2033. About 10,060 new daily vehicle trips are projected for the area, the report said. 

Other large retail chains are nearby Amazon's site such as Costco, Target, Walmart Supercenter and Best Buy.

To ease congestion, a new traffic signal — already planned by the village — and additional turn lanes as well as an extension of Ravinia Avenue to 161st Street are planned. Amazon also plans to include multiple new turn lanes to alleviate traffic issues, village officials said.

The new building will have seven loading docks, comparable in size to the nearby Walmart, which has six loading docks, according to the village.

Residents were concerned about truck traffic, which was excluded from Amazon's traffic study because it committed to scheduling truck deliveries during off-peak hours.

Attorney Katie Jahnke Dale, of DLA Piper and representing Amazon, said about 27 trucks would be at the site daily, noting that a prior estimate of 10 trucks was incorrect.

Orland Park trustee Michael Milani said in the meeting that he suspects residents' concerns “may be a case of ‘not in my backyard,’" and that village leadership is being “transparent” during the approval process.

“What do we have there today? A pile of dirt and a closed restaurant,” Milani said. “So we'll take what we can get.”

Amazon has launched other concepts in recent years. In September 2024, it launched Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, a smaller format Whole Foods, that has grown to five locations. In November 2025, it piloted a store-within-a-store concept at a Whole Foods in Pennsylvania, which combines Whole Foods products with Amazon's household and national name-brand items.

The company operates more than 50 Amazon Fresh stores, 14 Amazon Go convenience stores and more than 500 Whole Foods. Its cashier-less Go stores have experienced a wave of closures in recent years, with more than half of the locations closing since 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported.