Airport lodges opposition to Pheasant Run's residential plan
A plan to convert the majority of St. Charles' iconic Pheasant Run property into an untold amount of private residential units met stiff opposition Monday night from DuPage Airport.
The plan comes as the 149-acre property continues to stumble out of two years' worth of bankruptcy and foreclosure proceedings. A full recovery into profitability will require major renovations, including significant cutbacks in the part of the property that functions as a resort. Those cutbacks involve demolishing most of the older structures and 180 of the 480 hotel rooms on the property.
The main hotel tower would go through a total modernization. And the existing golf course and connected green space would become some form of residential housing. A retirement or age-restricted housing development or some other form of multifamily housing were the ideas that received the most discussion Monday night.
No matter what kind of housing is considered, DuPage Airport officials will oppose it.
David Bird, the executive director of the airport, said residential housing is worse than a bad idea for a piece of land so close to an airport.
“It is literally feet away from the fifth-busiest airport in the state, and we're only going to get busier,” Bird said. “There is going to be significant noise (from the airport) every single day that people are living there. There would be a constant barrage of complaints. There could not be a worse use for the property than a residential development. I cannot explain to you how bad this is.”
Pheasant Run representatives rebutted those comments by saying they have no records of any resort guest complaining about noise from the airport in the last two years they've run the property.
Even that defense might not have been necessary. Aldermen generally seemed unconcerned with the airport's fears. They pointed to booming single-family residential development on other sides of the airport and the airport's lack of interest in purchasing Pheasant Run as reasons to dismiss Bird's comments. Alderman Dan Stellato went as far as to say he was offended by Bird's assertions.
“I think it's wrong that somebody outside of our taxing district would come in and tell us how to manage our property,” Stellato said. “What in the world could you build on that site besides residential? It's 104 acres. Office? Retail? No way.”
The bigger obstacle for the project at this point might be a pending request for financial help from the city. Pheasant Run representatives said they will need some money from the city to help defray the costs of infrastructure and hotel upgrades. The exact amount needed, and the structure of the request, have not come forward yet. In recent years, aldermen have frowned upon tax increment financing districts. Instead, they've favored sales tax rebates, low or no-interest loans and programs that tie money to specific numbers of jobs created.
Aldermen encouraged Pheasant Run to move forward but return with more details on the financing and the number and type of residential units.
There's also a portion of the property on the far west end, near Target, that could become home to new retail and restaurants.