Business in DeKalb boomed in recent years with the additions of several major retail giants.

According to the DeKalb City Web site, the population also has boomed. Between the 1990 and 2000 censuses, the population rose 11.2 percent. DeKalb is expected to be home to 50,000 people by 2010, up from 39,018 in 2004.

New businesses continue to open and close in DeKalb. Another store will open in the DeKalb Market Square by Halloween.

The largest portion of new DeKalb residents come from the Chicago metro area, said DeKalb City ManagerMark Biernacki.

As a community experiences new growth, it must satisfy the newcomers’ needs as well as the needs of long-time residents.

“As the community continues to grow, there will be additional retail in the community,” said Russ Farnum, the acting director of community development.

With DeKalb growing, residents have had questions about commercial expansion. Their main concerns have been about the amount of expansion and its speed.

“As it relates to growth, 21 percent of people said we should stay the way we are, and 79 percent said that we should grow out and expand,” Biernacki said, citing the results of a 2003 survey.

Some residents expressed a need for more jobs through commercial growth.

Peggy Hernandez, a DeKalb resident, said she feels there needs to be faster commercial growth.

Rita Reader, also a resident of DeKalb, said more growth would benefit people by creating more jobs.

Commercial expansion continues in DeKalb in several locations.

“There are a couple of shopping centers being built out,” Farnum said. “There are new stores south of Kohl’s and Best Buy, and there has also been a grocery store proposal.”

“There is some modest-sized retail development in the works,” Biernacki said. “As we continue to grow, we expect other areas to open up for commercial development.”

Growth does not mean DeKalb will sacrifice uniqueness and become just another suburb of Chicago.

“DeKalb wants to keep its own identity,” Farnum said. “We are a very small college community.”

Farnum said it would be good to stay that way rather than becoming like every other suburb.

The city manager has similar beliefs on maintaining a separate identity from the suburbs.

“We do want to take appropriate measures to maintain our identity,” Biernacki said. “Our identity revolves around the fact that we are a university town. We are basically an urban community in a rural setting.”