Lowe's has halted plans for two home-improvement centers in Chicago while Mayor Richard Daley weighs whether he will try to block the city's new "big-box" minimum-wage ordinance, a South Side alderman said Tuesday. The company's concerns about the law caused it to shelve plans for stores at 83rd Street and Stewart Avenue and at 79th Street and Cicero Avenue, said Ald. Howard Brookins Jr. (21st). "They changed their mind," said Brookins, whose ward includes the proposed store at 83rd and Stewart. "They now want to wait and see what happens."Daley opposes the ordinance, which was passed by the City Council on July 26, but he has refused to say whether he would veto it. He has until Sept. 13 to decide whether he will exercise his veto power for the first time in his 17-year tenure as mayor.
David Katz of Northbrook-based A&R Management Inc., which manages the Scottsdale Shopping Center at 79th and Cicero, confirmed that Lowe's officials have postponed closing the deal for a new store there. "They won't sign the lease at this point," Katz said. "They are waiting to see if the mayor will veto the ordinance. Chances are they will pull out" unless the ordinance is vetoed.
Ald. Frank Olivo, whose 13th Ward includes the shopping center, was unavailable for comment. Attempts to reach Lowe's officials in the Chicago area and at the company's North Carolina headquarters were unsuccessful. The moves by Lowe's add fuel to the contentious fight over the ordinance. Labor unions pushed for the ordinance, but critics say it would stunt economic development in parts of Chicago that lack retail stores.