Des Plaines mayor: Casino project highlight of 2010
Des Plaines city officials are pinning their hopes on the long-awaited casino to turn the city's fortunes around and be a catalyst for redevelopment in 2010.
Demolition work and site preparation for the casino is set to begin in March. The casino is targeted for roughly 21 acres fronting the Tri-State Tollway at the northwest corner of Devon Avenue and River Road.
But first the city's plan commission will review preliminary designs for the project on Monday.
And the city council's community development committee will review a new zoning district specially created for the casino on Tuesday, Des Plaines Mayor Marty Moylan said Thursday morning, speaking to area businesses at Manzo's Banquets.
Moylan gave his first "State of Des Plaines" address, while other city officials talked about the city's finances, economic development plans and public works projects during a breakfast hosted by the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
"After eight years of negotiations, planning and controversy, the Des Plaines casino is a reality with the first phase of the development - valued at close to $400 million - slated to begin," Moylan said.
The initial development plan calls for 45,000 square feet of gambling space within a single-level casino, seven restaurants and bars, and roughly 2,100 parking spaces. The total project cost is $1 billion, which includes construction of two hotels and retail space in later phases of development.
"We believe that this dramatic project will create a new economic engine for Des Plaines, and that it will serve as a catalyst to even further growth as the critical mass generated by this new entertainment attraction spurs new development throughout the community," Moylan said.
In 2008, Midwest Gaming & Entertainment won the state's 10th and final casino license, which had been bogged down for years in legal and administrative disputes. Des Plaines was chosen over Rosemont and Waukegan.
The Illinois Gaming Board is still investigating the finances, connections and dealings of the Chicago-based developer. That involves background checks of existing and potential managers and key players with Midwest Gaming and the future casino. The board must find Midwest Gaming "suitable" before work can begin. The casino could open in late summer/early fall 2011.
The casino project, the city's own downtown beautification efforts and the expansion of Nippon Express, which proposes building a second cargo facility in town, are three key projects set to begin this year, Moylan said.
The city's downtown beautification project involves refurbishing Metropolitan Square Plaza, building facade and sidewalk improvements, and adding benches and new lighting along downtown streets at a cost of about $1.5 million, said Tim Oakley, the city's director of public works and engineering. That project will be paid for from state grants and funds from the downtown tax increment financing district.
City officials said they were optimistic about future retail projects, such as the Five Corners and the Oakton Street/Elmhurst Road corridor redevelopment plans, despite a nearly 11 percent vacancy rate in existing retail space.
"Our rate of retail vacancy is not really an inordinate amount compared to other communities," said Michael Conlan, Des Plaines director of community and economic development.
According to figures compiled by ComEd in April 2009, Prospect Heights has a retail vacancy of 21 percent; Arlington Heights, roughly 10 percent; Palatine, 6 percent, and Park Ridge, 5 percent.
On the other hand, Conlan said the Mannheim Road twin-Marriott hotels project that was shovel-ready a year ago is now dead in the water.
The plan commission meeting on the casino begins at 7 p.m. The city council is expected to approve a preliminary Planned Unit Development for the casino site at its Feb. 16 meeting.