Developer plans to turn old Rolling Meadows Sam’s Club into Asian restaurant and entertainment center

Aurora developers plan to buy the closed Sam’s Club in Rolling Meadows and turn it into an Asia-focused business, restaurant and entertainment hub.

Developer Eddie Juling Ni’s Windfall Group Over $10 million has been proposed to invest in the disused 129,000 square foot hypermarket at 1460-1470 Golf Road and make room for a trampoline park, golf simulator, food court and restaurant.

It will reflect a similar concept to Ni Pacific Plaza In Aurora, the one-stop Asian lifestyle hub, is the reuse of a former Yorkshire Square he bought in 2018.

A development partnership led by Ni is buying the vacant Sam’s Club property for $4.5 million from GRHC LLC, which is associated with Toronto-based real estate asset management firm Timbercreek Capital. After ten years in business, the Sam’s branch closed in 2010.

The building, called Pacifica on Golf, will be subdivided and leased to multiple tenants. According to plans presented to city officials, the proposed businesses are:

• Launch Franchising, a trampoline park operator and family entertainment center with 29,500 square feet including a ninja-style obstacle course, climbing wall, laser tag, arena, bowling alley, playground and restaurant.

• Enson Market, a 46,000-square-foot supermarket for the Asian community.

• Mango dessert shop, serving mixed juices, tea, cakes and desserts.

• KyuRamen, a Japanese ramen restaurant.

• Old Sichuan, opened in Chicago’s Chinatown in 1998, serves traditional Sichuan cuisine.

• Hotpot/Korean BBQ restaurant not yet announced.

• Modern food court with 10 restaurants and a bar.

• A 29,500-square-foot golf simulator that allows golfers to practice indoors in a virtual simulated environment.

• Five other possible occupants that could include a retail store and a sushi restaurant.

The developer’s proposed $10.1 million renovation includes packing old big boxes; new facades, glass, doors, and utilities; resurfaced 800-car parking lot; and a new loading dock at the back to eliminate the existing docks.

Officials estimate that the new development will bring nearly 300 new jobs.

The city council this month approved the developer’s application for the Cook County 7b tax credit, which would allow the property to assess at a lower level for more than a dozen years. The council also declared the 254,000-square-foot property damaged — a declaration required to qualify for the 7b tax break.

Ni’s lawyers said the purchase was contingent on getting incentives, without which the rebuild might not have happened.

The project is scheduled for completion in late 2023 or early 2024.