New plans for Rosemont casino site

An upscale restaurant, bowling alley and other entertainment venues may seem tame compared to Rosemont's ambitious casino plans.

But village officials recognize it's time to move on and put that chapter behind them.

Rosemont officials have been trying to come up with new plans for the village's former casino site since losing the state casino license bid to neighboring Des Plaines in December.

"We're done with that," Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens said. "It was going to be nice (for the casino) to be in Rosemont, just for an alternate source of entertainment for people."

The village is now working with country music icon Toby Keith to bring his signature restaurant, "I love this bar," to town. The site, on the north side of Balmoral Avenue fronting the Tri-State Tollway, is also being eyed by a bowling alley operator.

The village plans to sell the roughly $30 million property to Sierra Realty with the idea that the developer will draw new entertainment venues to the area.

Much of the property Rosemont owns for development lies in the area of Balmoral Avenue and River Road, a couple of thousand feet away from O'Hare International Airport. The goal is to transform the area into an entertainment hub, Stephens said.

"I'm confident that (the developer) can put it together," Stephens said. "The economy is going to dictate a lot of everything that goes on. We feel that our location is second to none. When the market turns around, I think that they'll look to Rosemont first for redevelopment."

The village board will consider a land sale contract with Sierra Realty at its March 4 meeting.