Amazon Is Coming to Orland Park: What’s Planned at 159th & LaGrange

If you thought Amazon meant another giant warehouse going up along the interstate, this one is different.

Amazon is building an actual retail store in Orland Park.

And not a small one.

The company is moving forward with a roughly 225,000 to 230,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar store at the southwest corner of 159th Street and LaGrange Road.

The site includes the long-vacant former Petey's II property and surrounding vacant land.

The Orland Park Village Board approved the project in January 2026, and according to the Village's latest September update, site work is now underway and the building permit is pending issuance.

There is also another piece moving through the process now.

Amazon is pursuing a Cook County Class 7b property-tax incentive, and the Village Board is scheduled to take another required action on that request on September 9.

This Is Not an Amazon Warehouse

Probably the biggest source of confusion around this project has been what Amazon is actually building.

Orland Park officials have repeatedly emphasized that the project is not a fulfillment center, warehouse or distribution hub.

It is a large-format commercial retail store open to the public.

The Village describes the concept as similar in overall scale to a Walmart Supercenter.

Plans call for groceries, household essentials and general merchandise inside a one-story building of approximately 230,000 square feet.

The approved zoning also specifically prohibits Amazon from simply converting the property into a warehouse or distribution facility later.

Where Is the Amazon Store Going?

The development sits at one of Orland Park's busiest commercial intersections:

the southwest corner of 159th Street and LaGrange Road.

The official development property is commonly identified as 9600 W. 159th Street and 15901 92nd Avenue.

The approximately 39.6-acre site includes the former Petey's II restaurant property along with surrounding vacant land.

For years, this has been one of those highly visible properties where people kept asking what would eventually happen.

Now we know.

The Project Is Already Moving Into Site Work

This is no longer simply a proposal sitting in front of the Plan Commission.

The Plan Commission reviewed the project in early January, and the Village Board formally approved the Amazon planned development on January 19, 2026.

By September, Village staff reported that:

site work had begun and the building permit was pending issuance.

That does not mean the store itself is about to open.

The Village's current timeline still points toward a 2027 opening.

What Happens to Traffic at 159th and LaGrange?

This is probably the question most people around here are going to ask.

159th and LaGrange is not exactly known for having extra road capacity sitting around waiting for another major retailer.

The Amazon project is being paired with several significant traffic and infrastructure changes around the intersection.

The Village has identified improvements including:

• Extending Ravinia Avenue south to LaGrange Road.
• Installing a new traffic signal at 161st Street and LaGrange Road.
• Adding dual left-turn lanes from northbound LaGrange Road onto Ravinia Avenue.
• Extending the dual left-turn lanes from eastbound 159th Street onto LaGrange Road.
• Closing the median opening across from Lake View Plaza.
• Adding deceleration lanes along portions of 159th Street and LaGrange Road.
• Adding an acceleration lane on LaGrange Road.
• Potentially burying utility lines along part of 159th Street west of LaGrange Road.

The basic idea is to create another way for vehicles to reach the development without forcing every movement through the main 159th and LaGrange intersection.

The Ravinia Avenue extension is a major part of that strategy.

There Will Be More Than Just Amazon

The Amazon store is the centerpiece, but the overall property is planned as a multi-phase commercial development.

Village materials also show future commercial outlots surrounding portions of the main development.

Exactly which restaurants, retailers or other businesses eventually occupy those outlots has not been announced.

So even after Amazon opens, this corner may continue changing.

Now Comes the Property-Tax Incentive

This is where the story gets a little more complicated.

Amazon Retail LLC is seeking a Cook County Class 7b property-tax incentive for the development.

The Orland Park Village Board already passed a resolution supporting the Class 7b designation on February 16, 2026.

But Cook County's program has another requirement.

The property must be within an area officially recognized as being in need of commercial development.

Because the Amazon property was not already within a qualifying area, Orland Park is now being asked to formally designate the property as "blighted and in need of renewal."

That resolution is scheduled for consideration by the Village Board on September 9, 2026.

What Does "Blighted" Actually Mean Here?

Seeing Orland Park declare one of its busiest commercial corners "blighted" probably sounds strange.

In this case, the word is being used as part of the legal eligibility process for the Cook County property-tax incentive.

Village staff points to the long-vacant land, the former Petey's II property, obsolete site improvements and what it describes as underperforming property values and tax generation.

The designation does not mean the entire 159th and LaGrange corridor is being declared economically distressed.

It applies to the specific property involved in the Amazon redevelopment.

How Does the Class 7b Tax Incentive Work?

Commercial property in Cook County is normally assessed at 25% of market value.

Under the Class 7b program, qualifying commercial development is assessed at:

• 10% of market value for the first 10 years
• 15% in year 11
• 20% in year 12

After the incentive period, the property returns to the normal commercial assessment level unless another qualifying program applies.

The Cook County Assessor describes Class 7b as an incentive intended for commercial projects costing more than $2 million, excluding land, that would not be economically feasible without the reduced assessment.

So Is Orland Park Giving Amazon a Tax Break?

There is an important distinction here.

When the project was approved in January, Orland Park said the Village itself was not providing Amazon with a direct subsidy, tax-sharing agreement or financial assistance.

The Class 7b program is a Cook County property-tax assessment incentive.

Orland Park's role is to support the application and make the local findings required for Amazon to seek the incentive from Cook County.

So the Village isn't writing Amazon a check.

But it is supporting a county program that would reduce the property's assessed value for a period of 12 years.

Even With the Incentive, Property Taxes Are Projected to Jump

The latest Village materials contain one of the more interesting numbers in this entire project.

The property currently generates approximately:

$46,945 per year in property taxes.

According to the Class 7b application materials, once the Amazon development is operating, the property is estimated to generate approximately:

$992,000 per year in property taxes, even with the incentive.

That would represent an estimated increase of roughly:

$945,000 annually.

Those are projections used as part of the incentive application, not guaranteed future tax bills.

Actual taxes will depend on future assessments, tax rates, exemptions, equalization and other factors.

But they help explain why the Village is supporting the project despite the reduced Class 7b assessment rate.

Why Does Amazon Say It Needs the Incentive?

According to material submitted with the Class 7b request, the project would produce an estimated return on investment of approximately 5.72% without the incentive.

The application argues that the reduced property-tax assessment could increase that return into a range of approximately 6.19% to 6.62%.

The applicant's position is that this difference is enough to move the project across its minimum feasibility threshold.

That's essentially the "but for" test behind the program:

Would the redevelopment happen without the incentive?

Amazon's application says the economics would not justify the investment without it.

The Village staff material supports that conclusion.

How Many Jobs Could the Amazon Store Create?

The Village and Amazon estimate the project will create approximately:

• 200 construction jobs
• 500 permanent jobs once the store is operating

The Village has also said Amazon expressed an intention to utilize local labor during construction.

When Will Amazon Open in Orland Park?

The current Village timeline targets:

• Late 2026: Ravinia Avenue extension and related intersection work
• Late 2026: Costco fuel-station relocation and associated Ravinia roundabout
• 2027: Amazon retail store opening
• Later: Additional commercial outlot development

Construction schedules can move, so I would treat 2027 as the current target rather than a guaranteed opening date.

The Bottom Line

The Amazon project at 159th and LaGrange has moved well beyond the rumor stage.

The store is approved. Site work has begun. The building permit is pending.

What is still moving through the process is the Cook County Class 7b incentive and the additional local designation required to qualify for it.

The project will bring a very large new retail concept to one of the southwest suburbs' busiest shopping corridors, along with major road changes and potentially more commercial development around it.

And if the current timeline holds, people around here could be shopping inside it sometime in 2027.

I'll continue updating this page as construction progresses, the Class 7b process is completed and Amazon releases more information about exactly what the new store will look like inside.

Sources & Public Records

• Village of Orland Park: Amazon Retail Store Approved at 159th Street and LaGrange Road
• Village of Orland Park: Upcoming and Approved Development Projects
• Village of Orland Park: Amazon Retail Planned Development Approval
• Village of Orland Park: February 2026 Class 7b Resolution
• Village of Orland Park: September 2026 Class 7b Blight Designation
• Cook County Assessor: Class 7b Commercial Property-Tax Incentive