Rosemont looks at expanded entertainment district

Shop Gucci, or take in some Cuban food and a mojito with plenty of time to catch that flight just down the street at O'Hare International Airport.

This is the lively scene Rosemont hopes to bring to its burgeoning entertainment district, offering conventioneers and tourists a destination outside Chicago.

Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens said after the monthly village board meeting Wednesday that he's enthusiastic about a developer that he traveled to Baltimore to meet.

Stephens last month visited The Cordish Co. and toured one of its projects: a 300,000-square-foot retail and entertainment development built around a row of nearly century-old brick townhouses in Baltimore.

Stephens heard some preliminary ideas from Cordish on what it could do in Rosemont and he's already heralding the potential project as a spot that could rival Chicago's Navy Pier.

High-end boutique shops coupled with restaurants and nightclubs are just some of the ideas floated by Cordish representatives, he said.

If things materialize as proposed, Rosemont will be a tourist draw.

"We'll go head-to-head with Navy Pier for No. 1 tourist destination in Illinois," Stephens said.

Of course, he said that would have to happen without a towering Ferris wheel like the one at Navy Pier since Rosemont has to keep its skyline free because of its proximity to O'Hare.

Stephens has asked Cordish for a letter of intent for the project, which could come this month. Rosemont owns the property.

Stephens said he was particularly impressed by a Cuban restaurant in the Baltimore development because of its swift sales.

If things work out with Cordish, Stephens said the company could break ground on the project later this year.

Last year, plans for a $100 million water park and resort fell through at the site off Balmoral Avenue west of River Road and east of the Tri-State Tollway. Before that, plans for a casino on the site fell through after opposition by the state attorney general.

A multiscreen movie theater did open last fall in the area, designated as the village's entertainment district.

The late Mayor Donald E. Stephens, Bradley's father, used to say he wanted the site and its surrounding area to become like Disneyland.

Cordish also is behind a massive mixed-use residential, retail and entertainment development planned around the new St. Louis Cardinals stadium and a casino-hotel resort in Florida. More information on Cordish projects is on the company Web site: www.cordish.com.