IL Officials Unveil $500M Mixed-Use Project

By Dana Dubriwny
Globe St. Retail
May 10, 2006

ROSEMONT, IL-City officials on Tuesday announced the city’s new $500M mixed-use development of hotels, restaurants, entertainment and offices to be built around the Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center and Rosemont Theatre. Called Rosemont Walk, the 60-acre project will include 600,000 sf of retail, office and entertainment space.

After unveiling the master plan for Rosemont Walk, developers, which include Sierra Realty Advisors, the Harp Group Inc., Cenitare and Landmark Resorts & Hotels, broke ground on the $300 million first phase. This includes a $110-million, 400,000-sf Grizzly Falls Resort; a 16-story, 525-room Le Meridien Chicago O’Hare Hotel; and Muvico Rosemont Walk 22, a 110,000 sf., 4,750-seat, 22-screen themed megaplex.

Linked by new streetscapes, signage and features, Rosemont Walk will encompass the existing Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center, Rosemont Theatre, Gibsons Steakhouse, Morton’s Steakhouse, as well as the Sofitel, Crowne Plaza, Embassy Suites and Doubletree hotels. The overall development will cover the area bound by Bryn Mawr on the north, River Road on the east, I-294 on the west and the Village boundary on the south.

Design and marketing efforts for Rosemont Walk are being led by Marc A. Offit, Chairman and CEO of Sierra Realty Advisors. The firm is managing the project’s master plan and will market future phases that will include office space, hotels, restaurants and entertainment offerings including plans for a bowling alley and a focal point outdoor ice rink.

“With this announcement, Rosemont opens the most exciting chapter in our history--a chapter that will be remembered as our defining achievement,” Mayor Donald Stephens said during the announcement. Referring to the court debacle surrounding the Emerald Casino, in which the Illinois Gaming Board revoked Emerald's state gambling license, the mayor commented that “it can no longer be said that Rosemont waited for the courts, the legislature or any state agency or official to determine our destiny.”

The Village has also approved plans by Duke Realty Corp. for a 72,000-sf office and warehouse for US Customs and Border Protection. Valued at $14 million, the project, which will be located east of Rosemont Walk, is expected to bring 250 Department of Homeland Security employees to Rosemont.