Fox Lake hotel plans slowed

Construction activity at the site of a planned hotel and game facility in Fox Lake has ground to a halt for now, officials said, but the project is far from dead.

Trustee Ed Bender, who has been at the forefront of the project since In-Play and Holiday Inn Express agreed to build an 84-bed hotel and large game facility on Route 12, said the weak economy nearly caused financing for the $40 million project to fall through.

However, Bender said, developers have discovered a new funding source, and the project is close to restarting.

"The company is confident they will get the financing squared away real soon and work will start up again," he said. "I'm not sure if it'll start up again this year because it's turning cold, but I expect things will be moving forward no later than spring."

The troubled economy is to blame for the project slowing down, Bender said, as lenders aren't as quick to pass out money as in the past. Construction started in May, but was halted in late summer or early fall.

"But, despite the economy, the hotel is not dead in any way," he said. "The forward progress just slowed down because of the economy."

The project was approved in April, but the delays could push back the opening date of the hotel to 2010, Bender believes. When completed, it will be the first new hotel built in Fox Lake in more than 30 years, officials said.

Plans call for construction of the hotel, a bar and 450-seat banquet room. The highlight of the project is In-Play, a modern entertainment center that combines the latest arcade games with more high-tech computer simulators and virtual reality games for children and adults alike.

Officials said the hotel would be built first, followed by the banquet hall and game center.