Daily Herald opinion: New owners could bring welcome resurgence to former Indian Lakes Resort

This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

There was a time when Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale and Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles were premier destinations for Chicago area residents wanting a weekend getaway close to home.

That time has ended for both properties, but for one, there may yet be a chance for an attractive resurgence.

Pheasant Run shut down in March 2020 after a failed attempt to auction off the property along Route 64.

That July, Bloomingdale agreed to buy the golf course at Indian Lakes to protect it from development. The village acquired the roughly 188-acre former golf course and 15 acres along the south side of Schick Road between Country Club and Cardinal drives.

Then, in March 2021, Indian Lakes' owners voluntarily surrendered the business license needed to operate the hotel.

So, in one year, two tourist magnets long known for golfing, fine dining and entertainment were gone.

St. Charles is still grappling with what to do with the former Pheasant Run property. A car dealership has opened on the resort's former Mega Center site, and an industrial park has replaced the former golf course. However, the main resort campus is in ruins after a massive fire in May 2022. Now, city officials are discussing imposing fines on the property owner or taking other steps to force the demolition of all the vacant buildings.

But in Bloomingdale, the shuttered hotel at the former Indian Lakes could reopen. Senior writer Katlyn Smith reports that Chicago-based Maverick Hotels and Restaurants is renovating the building and giving it a new name: Prairie Lakes Resort.

While the hotel needs significant work after sitting unused for more than two years, Maverick intends to update the building, refresh its rooms and improve its lobby, village officials say.

Meanwhile, Bloomingdale leaders and golf course architect Dave Esler are finalizing plans to create a new 18-hole course, a 9-hole course with golf academy holes and a driving range. The golf course renovations will incorporate stormwater improvements for the Indian Lakes area, officials say.

It's an impressive turn of events, especially considering the circumstances that caused the former owners of the hotel to relinquish their business license.

Bloomingdale started the process to force the hotel out of business after a Feb. 6, 2021, shooting left one person dead and five others injured. Village officials said at the time that there had been concerns about poor maintenance and increased crime at the hotel, and the shooting was the "last straw."

But the intervention by Maverick has provided some new hope for a welcome resurgence of the former Indian Lakes property. The village is doing its part to make that possible. We hope Maverick works closely with Bloomingdale leaders and operates the hotel in a way that makes the community proud.

As for Pheasant Run, the remains of the former property need to be cleared and redeveloped. What's there now is a hazard and an eyesore. And like Bloomingdale, St. Charles deserves something its citizens can be proud of.