Developer proposes expansive $2B mixed-use project for Metro East

 

 

By MELISSA CROCKETT MESKE
Managing Editor, Illinois Business Journal
[email protected]

An O’Fallon-based developer has advanced plans for a nearly $2 billion mixed-use development in Glen Carbon, positioning the project as a regional destination designed to capture Illinois consumer spending that might otherwise flow to Missouri.

The firm recently presented a $1.97 billion proposal to develop 1,534 acres at the interchange of Interstates 270 and 255. The project, which would total approximately 3.5 million square feet at full build-out, is being pitched as a large-scale retail, entertainment and hospitality hub in the Metro East.

The master developer is Destination Illinois LLC, led by Chad Holland and Ryan Holland, founders of C.R. Holland, with office locations in O’Fallon and Belleville. In addition to Chad Holland and Ryan Holland, C.R. Holland’s leadership team includes longtime regional and state economic development professional Robert Stephan, who serves as the firm’s executive vice president of development. The leadership team further includes Finance and Accounting Manager Tyler Goebel, CPA, and Director of Construction Management John Holland.

Plans submitted to Village of Glen Carbon officials outline a mix of big-box retail, entertainment venues, multiple hotels, athletic facilities, public-use spaces, restaurants and breweries, along with residential, office and commercial components.

According to documents presented to the Glen Carbon Village Board, the development is projected to generate approximately $714 million in annual sales and attract an estimated 23.7 million visitors per year. The project is also expected to create about 13,750 temporary construction jobs and 2,790 permanent positions upon completion.

Project materials indicate the development could include a waterfront recreation area with paddleboarding and an outdoor resort concept, as well as a regional youth sports complex. Developers are also pursuing plans for indoor and outdoor concert venues, upscale apartment communities and a network of outdoor plazas designed for year-round programming.

The proposal calls for the use of Illinois’ STAR Bonds program, a sales tax-based financing mechanism intended to support major destination developments. Under the Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, Bonds framework, a portion of new sales tax revenue generated by a qualifying development can be used to finance eligible project costs, including public infrastructure. The program is designed to spur tourism-driven projects that attract out-of-region visitors and expand the local tax base.

The Glen Carbon proposal represents an early step in securing state incentive approval. Glen Carbon’s board of trustees voted unanimously at its meeting last week on Feb. 24 in favor of establishing the boundaries for a sales tax and revenue bond district, which now awaits approval from the state.