In his 13 years as mayor of Bloomingdale, Franco Coladipietro has worked on several large-scale projects, but none as consequential as the redevelopment of the now-demolished Stratford Square Mall. The site, renamed “The Grove,” will be home to Bloomingdale Yard, a 100,000-square-foot sports training facility slated to open next year. There are also plans for restaurants, an event lawn, a man-made lake, retail space and luxury residences.
The old mall, once the largest revenue generator for the village, had become a symbol of failure, Coladipietro says.“Failure doesn’t sit well with me,” he says. “The mall’s ownership group had no intention of investing money in the project and said that to us. I knew that we had to take matters into our own hands and our village board agreed.”
