The former Starbucks at 100 Park Ave. in downtown Clarendon Hills has been under construction for nearly two years, funded by a $622,000 taxpayer subsidy, and nobody can say when it will open as a coffee shop.

Sparrow Coffee owner Chris Chacko agreed in October 2024 to finish the renovation within one year after the Clarendon Hills Village Board approved the tax increment financing grant. That deadline passed last fall. The board has since granted two six-month extensions. Village Manager Paul Dalen confirmed in an email to Patch on Aug. 5 that he still does not have a grand opening date.

"We feel almost like we're letting down the community, saying we're going to open at a certain time and we don't," Chacko told the Village Board at its April meeting. "This is a fluid construction project."

What happened

Chacko's plan calls for combining three separate commercial units into a single space for Sparrow Coffee, which already operates locations in Naperville and Chicago. The structural challenge proved bigger than expected. In October 2025, when Chacko sought the first extension, he said the three buildings had been joined in a "haphazard and unorthodox fashion" and that architect Michael Abraham designed a structural steel solution instead of wooden trusses to secure the roof. Several contractors declined the job, unwilling to install steel in a space where the roof could collapse, and the installation itself ran more than a month, Chacko said at the time.

The Village Board granted a first six-month extension, pushing the deadline to April 30. Chacko missed that date too. In March, the village issued a stop-work order after staffers identified a safety concern and maintenance issues at the site. The order was lifted within days, but the project fell further behind.

A second six-month extension followed, moving the completion deadline to approximately October 2026.

The money

The $622,000 subsidy comes from Clarendon Hills' downtown TIF district. Under the village's program, the TIF fund covers up to one-third of a tenant buildout's total cost, with the expectation that increased property tax revenue and sales taxes will repay the investment within five years.

Village President Eric Tech wrote in the village's July-August newsletter that Sparrow was making excellent progress and expected to open in the coming months. Dalen, in his email, struck a similar tone, saying construction continues to make good progress.

Some residents have suggested the village hold off on separate downtown improvement projects until they can gauge how Sparrow Coffee affects foot traffic. In July, the Village Board rejected a $3.3 million no-bid downtown improvement deal after the cost came in nearly three times the village's April estimate of $1.2 million.

What it means for downtown

Clarendon Hills' downtown retail vacancy rate sits at 6.4%, below the near west suburbs average of 13%, according to the village's downtown plaza FAQ. The 100 Park Ave. space has been dark since Starbucks left. Whether Sparrow delivers the foot-traffic boost residents and officials are banking on depends on a timeline that remains, in Chacko's word, "fluid."

Clarendon Hills development week ahead

Monday, Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m. — Village Board meeting, Village Hall, 1 N. Prospect Ave. No August meeting date was confirmed on the village calendar. Residents seeking an update on the Sparrow Coffee project or the TIF subsidy timeline can attend or check the posted agenda ahead of the meeting.