Will Woodman's on Route 59 Raise Plainfield Home Values?

Will the New Woodman's on Route 59 Raise Home Values Near 119th Street in Plainfield?

Woodman's Food Market opens its 20th store at the northeast corner of Route 59 and 119th Street in Plainfield around October 1, 2026, anchoring a 36-acre site with room for seven more restaurants and retail outlots. Roadway widening, a new signal at Spaulding School Drive, and added travel lanes are already under construction to handle the traffic. History in this corridor says anchor retail of this size moves nearby home values up over the following 12 to 24 months, though the size of that bump depends on your specific block, your home's condition, and how you time your listing.

By the Constellation Home Sales Team | September 11, 2026

If you own a home anywhere near Route 59 and 119th in Plainfield, you've probably already driven past the construction and wondered what it means for you. You're not alone. This is one of the questions we hear most from homeowners in this corridor right now, whether they're thinking about selling this year or just want to understand what's happening to their neighborhood.

Here's what's actually going in, what the research on anchor retail and home values tells us, and how to think about timing if you're on either side of a transaction near this corridor.

What's Actually Being Built at Route 59 and 119th

Woodman's is a Wisconsin-based grocery chain known for building some of the largest stores in its category — this location will run roughly 240,000 square feet, larger than a typical Costco. President Clint Woodman has confirmed the project remains on schedule for a fall 2026 opening.

The site includes more than the grocery store itself:

• A fuel center with gas dispensers, a convenience store, a car wash, and an oil change center

• Seven additional outlot parcels available for restaurants and retail, most of which have not been announced yet

• Roadway improvements at the intersection, including additional travel lanes, stormwater drainage upgrades, and a new traffic signal at Spaulding School Drive

That intersection work matters as much as the store itself. Contractors have been grading the south side of 119th Street and setting signal foundations throughout the year, and wider, better-signaled roads tend to make a corridor more attractive to the retail and restaurant tenants that typically follow an anchor like this. That's part of why this stretch of Route 59 is worth watching over the next two years, not just the next two months.

How Anchor Retail Actually Moves Home Values Around Here

Grocery-anchored development is one of the more reliable local drivers of home value we track, and it's not just theory. We've watched a version of this play out elsewhere in the southwest suburbs already.

When Amazon opened its Orland Park distribution facility, nearby home shoppers cited proximity to jobs and new commercial activity as a reason to look at that specific submarket. The same pattern showed up near the Hyundai Translead facility in Joliet, where new industrial and commercial investment changed how buyers viewed homes that had previously been considered a longer drive from anything. Newer construction nearby, like the Parksmith Run subdivision in Oswego, tends to compound the effect, since builders and buyers alike read new commercial investment as a signal that a corridor is heading in the right direction.

None of that means every home within a mile of Route 59 and 119th will see an identical bump. It means the fundamentals that usually drive value up in a corridor like this — reduced drive time to daily errands, more restaurant and retail options, and visible public investment in the roads — are all showing up here at once. That combination is worth paying attention to whether you're planning to sell in the next year or the next five.

Should You List Before or After the Store Opens?

This is the real question behind most of the calls we get about this corridor, and the honest answer is that it depends on your specific situation more than it depends on the calendar.

If you're selling near 119th and Route 59

Homes already close to the site may see buyer interest pick up as soon as the store opens and people can see the finished corridor rather than a construction zone. Still, listing before the opening has its own advantage: less competition from other sellers who are waiting for the "after" photos, and buyers who can picture the finished product because you can point to Woodman's opening date directly in your marketing.

We also weigh this against the broader seasonal question. Whether it makes more sense to list this fall or wait until spring in the southwest suburbs is its own decision, and a hyperlocal catalyst like a new anchor store can change that math for a specific address even when the general seasonal advice points the other way.

If you're buying nearby

Buyers looking in this corridor right now are essentially buying ahead of the value increase that typically follows an opening like this. That's a real opportunity, and it also means less certainty about final pricing on the outlot parcels and whatever gets built on them. If you're considering a home near this intersection, it's worth asking your agent to pull the specific construction timeline for any parcel near the one you're considering before you write an offer.

Either way, guessing at the value of "close to the new Woodman's" from a listing description is not the same as getting a number that accounts for your specific lot, your home's condition, and current comps on your exact street.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the new Woodman's on Route 59 in Plainfield open?

Woodman's is targeting an opening around October 1, 2026, at the northeast corner of Route 59 and 119th Street. As of this fall, the company has confirmed the project remains on its original schedule.

Will the Route 59 and 119th Street road construction affect my home's value or my commute?

The roadway work includes added travel lanes, a new signal at Spaulding School Drive, and stormwater drainage improvements designed to handle the increased traffic from the new store. Short-term, expect construction delays. Longer-term, a wider, better-signaled intersection tends to support higher home values in the surrounding corridor.

Should I sell my Plainfield home before or after the Woodman's opens?

There's no universal answer. Some sellers benefit from listing before the opening to avoid competing with other sellers who are waiting, while others benefit from waiting until buyers can see the finished corridor. It depends on your address, your timeline, and how close you are to the site.

What else is being built on the 36-acre Woodman's site?

Beyond the grocery store and fuel center, the site includes seven additional outlot parcels zoned for restaurants and retail. Most of these have not been publicly announced yet, so expect more development news in this corridor over the next one to two years.

Does a new grocery store actually raise nearby home values, or is that just a rumor?

It's a well-documented pattern, not just a rumor, though the size of the impact varies by market and by how close a given home is to the new development. We've seen a similar effect locally following the Amazon facility in Orland Park and the Hyundai Translead site in Joliet, where new commercial and industrial investment changed how buyers viewed nearby homes.

If you're trying to figure out what a home near Route 59 and 119th is actually worth right now, ahead of the opening, that's not a question a listing site can answer accurately. Text or call 630-912-9129 and we'll run the real comps for your specific street, not just the neighborhood average.

About the Constellation Home Sales Team
The Constellation Home Sales Team — Steve Roake and Kimberly Genovese — has closed more than 615 transactions worth over $113 million across Chicago's southwest suburbs and Northwest Indiana. Licensed since 2003 and operating under Keller Williams Preferred Realty, the team specializes in probate and estate sales, expired listings, negotiation, and divorce and life-transition sales, with a track record of selling homes at 101% of list price against a 97.7% MLS-wide average. Connect with the team at freedomgroupglobal.com or 630-912-9129.