Gigantic Sports Facility Moves Forward In Lincolnshire

LINCOLNSHIRE, IL — Lincolnshire village trustees Monday advanced a plan to tear down a largely vacant office park and replace it with a huge indoor sports facility and other ventures as part of a new mixed-use development. The board rezoned 40 acres on the northwest corner of Half Day Road and I-94 from an office to business district and issue a special use permit for development set to be anchored by the massive "sports and wellness complex."

The Lincolnshire Village Board Monday gave its preliminary approval for plans to turn the site into a 450,000-square-foot recreation and fitness complex called The St. James, as well as a hotel, a restaurant and "a public or private recreation facility to be identified in the future," according to a memo from village staff. The developer said the other tenants would not commit until the site was re-zoned.

The St. James Director of Development Michael Kerin said the Lincolnshire site is particularly attractive for the recreation company's second facility. Its first location is in the D.C. suburbs. A 50,000-square-foot athletic, health and retail complex has a grand opening planned for next month in Springfield, Virginia.

The proposed two-story Lincolnshire multi-sport facility would include to have the only FIFA regulation-sized turf soccer field in the region, two NHL regulation-sized ice rinks, an Olympic-sized pool, a water park, four basketball courts, a fitness center, a gym, gymnastic center, spa, health club, an "active entertainment center" – a mix of climbing structures, trampolines and zip lines with party and gaming areas – among other things.

Trustees voted 4-0 at their Aug. 27 to approve an ordinance clearing the way for the development. It will still need to seek approval from the village for its final uses, plans and designs.

Mayor Elizabeth Brandt said the process was just beginning. She encouraged interested residents to take park in future public hearings about the project.

"This is just the start of a long process, and we appreciate your input," Brandt said.

Two trustees were absent for the vote but submitted notes that were read at the meeting. Trustee Tom McDonough's said he hoped further discussions could continue while the board was not on vacation. And Trustee Mark Hancock's said he was supportive of the plan, which he described as attractive to many businesses, retailers, hotels and schools.

"The village needs to attract young families, quality restaurants and retailers to maintain and improve the vibrancy of our village," said Hancock's note. "This zoning has the potential to do so."

During public hearings, some residents have raised concerns about traffic and aesthetics during public hearings, the Daily Herald reported, with an earlier version of the project that included a driving range removed from the proposal in July.

The site had been "largely vacant" for a number of years when it last purchased by Medline Industries, according to the rezoning application from Rand Diamond, managing principal of developer GlenStar Properties. The zoning application was originally filed by GlenStar, according to the village. It has since been transferred it to a Delaware-based LLC that was formed in July with the St. James Sports and Wellness Complex as its manager. Chicago-based GlenStar will be the development manager for the site, the village said.

In 2015, Medline got the village to rezone the property from planned development to office campus, according to Diamond. But in October 2015 it announced it would buy the former Kraft Heinz site in Northfield. Medline listed the properties at 90, 98 and 100 Half Day Road on the market in early 2016. According to the village, two of the three buildings were most recently used by Hewitt & Associates before its merged with Aon and relocated.

"Any future use of the property as a large corporate campus would be counter to the prevailing trends of corporate relocation to urban areas to attract and retain younger workforces and increasing demand for mixed-use developments providing high-quality amenities," Diamond said in the application. That has led to "widespread underperformance" in the market, possibly providing an explanation for the property's long-term vacancy.

GlenStar has been making moves in the sluggish north suburban office market in recent years. Last year, it purchased the Schaumburg Corporate Center and the final piece of a Bannockburn office park about 2.5 miles east of the its proposed Lincolnshire development, Crain's Chicago Business reported. It has also previously redeveloped the Continential Towers in Rolling Meadows and purchased the Chicago Board of Trade building as part of a consortium back in 2012.

According to a report from commercial brokerage firm MB Real Estate, the office vacancy rate in the north suburban submarket was 22.3 percent through July 2018, down from last year's 25.4 percent vacancies but still historically high. MBRE said there were only two suburban office developments set to be built across all suburbs, a 100,000-square-foot medical office building in North Chicago and a GlenStar development near O'Hare built for a pension fund that would be its sole occupant. The reports said there are several other build-to-suit projects proposed but not begun, including a five-story tower at the Parkway North Center in Deerfield.

The St. James expects to open 2020, the company said in a release. The business plans to bring what its development director called a "scalable, replicable model" to major markets across the country.

Promotional video for The St. James

Location of proposed complex: