Construction on a new warehouse for Costco at the corner of 26th Street and Harlem Avenue in North Riverside will begin sometime this week, according to Karyn Byrne, code enforcement officer for the village of North Riverside.

Byrne received that news at a preconstruction meeting between the village and Novak Construction, the general superintendent for the work, on July 16.

“They have all their permits and they have picked up their final drawings, so they are set,” said Byrne.

It has taken a bit longer for Monroe Investment Partners, the property’s former owner, to turn over the 16-acre site to Costco. The demolition company’s deadline for leveling the building and grading the site in preparation for the new construction was July 1.

However, said Byrne, the delay has not significantly affected the construction timetable. Costco is likely to open in November, prior to Thanksgiving.

“To [Novak Construction], they’re not really off schedule,” said Byrne. “This is when they thought they’d be starting.”

While Costco will be moving ahead soon, there hasn’t been any solid news concerning the four Harlem Avenue outlots, which still are owned by Monroe Investment Partners. Costco bought its property from Monroe on March 12 for $5.5 million.

Byrne said there have been some inquiries by a handful of restaurant businesses, such as Red Robin and Smashburger, but nothing is presently in the pipeline.

At this time, there are mounds of gravel on the outlot parcels. That material will likely be used as backfill as construction on the Costco moves forward, and won’t remain there indefinitely.

“Monroe Partners wants to get something going [on the outlots] as soon as possible,” said Byrne, who did not have any information related to work that needs to be done on 26th Street, where a second left-turn lane will be added. The roadway will be widened on the north side of the street to accommodate the additional turn lane, and the roadway will have to be re-striped. An exit/entry point will also be constructed on Harlem Avenue.

That work is being coordinated by Monroe Partners, according to Byrne, who added that Monroe Partners expect Illinois Department of Transportation approval in early August.

Work on the street-widening/lane configuration should be complete by Oct. 1, said Byrne, who had received that information from Tom Brashler, a partner and spokesman for Monroe Investment Partners.