Art Van plans 106,000-square-foot Chicagoland store

Art Van Furniture said it will open its seventh Chicagoland store next year, in a two-level 106,000-square-foot building here.

The Warren, Mich.-based Top 100 company said it will renovate the former Home Depot Expo Center on Butterfield Road off of Interstate 88 for the store, slated to opening in January 2015.

"There is tremendous potential for success and we believe Downers Grove will become our flagship store based on its tremendous size and superb location," Art Van CEO Kim Yost said in a release. "We look forward to enhancing the homes of the families in the vibrant Downers Grove community and its surrounding suburbs."

Art Van said it plans to hire at least 70 people for the store, which would bring the Chicagoland employee count up to more than 600 people. The multimillion-dollar renovation will include a 10,000-square-foot expansion as well as what the retailer calls a "striking main entrance," with an escalator in the center of the main floor and upper showrooms.

The company will open its sixth Chicagoland store in the Woodridge-Bolingbrook, Ill., area on Boughton Road in April. Last year, it opened its first five area stores in Chicago's Logan Square area, Bedford Park, Orland Park and Batavia, Ill., and Merrillville, Ind.