ROMEOVILLE, ILL. — Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) has announced plans for a 1.2 million-square-foot fulfillment center on a 60-acre tract in Romeoville, located along the Interstate 55 corridor about 30 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin this spring with a projected opening date of mid-2022.
The Boston-based online furniture retailer anticipates hiring about 250 people on a full-time basis at the facility, with that figure expected to grow to as many as 500 positions over time.
The new facility will be located on Renwick Road near the Lewis University Airport. As part of the development, the Village of Romeoville partnered with Illinois State Sen. John Connor to secure funding for a road extension from Airport Road to Renwick Road.
“Our new fulfillment center in Romeoville will enable us to further scale our shopping experience to meet the needs of our rapidly growing customer base in the greater Chicago region and across the U.S.,” says Thomas Netzer, COO of Wayfair.
“Online retail continues to be the dominant force in the market today,” adds Romeoville Mayor John Noak. “Facilities such as this are large property and sales tax generators, which provide additional funding to our schools and other taxing bodies.”
The stock price of Wayfair opened at $285.36 per share on Monday, Feb. 22, more than quadrupling from $63.20 one year ago. Wayfair generated $13 billion in net income for the 12-month period that ended on Sept. 30, 2020 and now employs more than 16,000 people across Europe and North America.
— Taylor Williams