Hotel, gas station and more proposed along Randall Road in Elgin

An Indianapolis company hopes to get approval from Elgin for a $70 million development along Randall Road that would include a hotel, a gas station, and buildings for commercial, office space and "light industrial" uses.

Scannell Properties' plans for 53 acres at the southwest corner of Randall Road and Route 72/Higgins Road include the annexation of the northernmost 37 acres, which are outside Elgin's city limits.

Busse Parkway would be extended to Randall Road, in alignment with Carrington Drive east of Randall Road, with the addition of a traffic signal.

Bill Linville, managing director for Scannell, said that although the company hasn't started marketing the site, it already has received interest from retail, hotel and light industrial development. The site is among the last, if not the last, large parcel open for such development near the Interstate 90 and Randall Road interchange, he said.

"It's kind of a strategic location and we like doing business with Elgin," Linville said. "You're just outside Cook County so you have lower taxes, but you're not so far as going all the way out to Rockford or the other exits further west of Elgin."

The planning and zoning commission, at its meeting Monday, unanimously recommended approval of the plan. Final approval will have to come from the Elgin City Council.

The plan has detractors, however, such as Rosalie Fallico, owner of Big Sammy's Hot Dogs at 2490 Bushwood Parkway. She and other nearby small business owners believe the new development will hurt them, she said.

"We're all for bringing in the community and more people, but I think if we bring some large chain restaurants, some of us will go under," she said.

Resident William Graves, who lives near the proposed development, told the commission he's worried about increased traffic along Randall Road.

The first phase of the project proposed by Scannell Properties would include extending Busse Parkway and building a 418,000- square foot, light-industrial building on the western portion of the site, and a 91,000-square foot, commercial/office/industrial building on the southwest corner of Randall and Higgins roads.

A gas station and convenience store, a four-story hotel, commercial retail/service buildings, and another 48,000-square foot, commercial/office/industrial building would be built later.

Linville said that if everything moves forward smoothly, the company hopes to break ground in summer and finish the development by the end of 2021.