jcmedic
06-12-2007, 21:01
Developer: Perry County Is No. 1 Choice for Convention Site
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 1:27 PM CDT
DuQuoin Evening Call June 12, 2007
PERRY COUNTY - If developers proposing a convention resort in western Perry County can clear several hurdles--including concerns from environmental group about a possible land swap with Pyramid State Park--Southern Illinois is the location of choice for a development that proponents say would bring over 2,500 jobs to the area.
"This is the site that they are settling on, that they want to be at," said Geri Boyer, project engineer for Belleville's Kaskaskia Engineering Group, which has worked for the last 10 months with the Toney Watkins Company of Glen Carbon to establish a convention destination in Perry County.
Boyer said in a telephone interview this morning that although previous statements from the Toney Watkins Company indicated other sites across the country had also been under consideration, Perry County is where the company wants to build its 10,000-acre development.
"If everything comes together, it's clear to go for Perry County," Boyer said.
Developers are ready to begin construction at the site as early as this fall, should the proposal clear legislative hurdles.
"We've been meeting with legislators ongoing for probably the last year," Boyer said. "We met with environmentalists last Thursday in Springfield, along with Sen. (Dave) Luechtefeld and Rep. (Dan) Reitz."
Reitz, a Steeleville Democrat, asked fellow House members last week to approve a measure authorizing the state's Department of Natural Resources to exchange 2,000 acres at Pyramid State Park with the Toney Watkins Company for comparably priced land.
Reitz said the bill would require a 10 percent bond payment from the corporation on the appraised price of acreage from Pyramid. The company would also have to meet other criteria set forth by the IDNR before moving forward on any land swap that might be approved in the future.
"All this bill does is give IDNR the right to transfer land if this group meets all the standards that they have to meet," Luechtefeld said last week. "It's not a bill that says it (the land) will be transferred--all it does is give them the power to transfer if this group meets all the requirements."
However, several environmental groups contacted by Reitz--including the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, the Environmental Council and Open Spaces--have questioned whether or not the state should approve a land swap involving acreage currently under the state park system. The environmental groups have are also concerned the convention site would endanger rare birds, including the Henslow's sparrow, in the grasslands at the park.
Boyer said this morning that the Toney Watkins company is continuing dialogue with the environmental groups and said the organizations agreed to e-mail their members for comments regarding the proposed land swap.
"We're going to get back with them and see how we can deal meet with everybody's expectations," Boyer said. "We're just waiting for their constituents to get back with them so that we don't go through this three or four times" before construction.
As early as October, work could begin at the site's first golf course, which Boyer says would be called the World Course.
And developers also are targeting Olympic BMX trials prior to the 2008 Olympics in China, Boyer said.
"The BMX bicycle facility is ready to go, because we are going to build the exact replica of the facility that's being built for the Beijing Olympics so that we can run those trials for the Olympic event," Boyer said.
Once the BMX trail and the golf course are built, Boyer says the complex's first hotel would be the next project for construction workers.
All told, several hotels will be built, including long-term stay accommodations for visitors who will be training at the site, Boyer said. Larger hotels would be built at a later stage of the project's development.
Boyer said that Teens on the Green, a youth golf organization, plans to move its learning center to the Perry County site and would bring in young golfers throughout the year. The BMX trail would attract competitors year-round, as well.
"What we're hoping is that bringing people in for these additional events will spark more use of the World Shooting Complex, also," Boyer said. That attraction, just north of Sparta in Randolph County, regularly draws competitors and their families to the shooting center.
And the Toney Watkins Company plans to add some entertainment of its own to its convention resort. Boyer said the company still plans a complex themed around music of all genres.
The company said in a press release e-mailed to regional media outlets on Monday that it has remained silent on the proposed development so far because of a misunderstanding with the state's economic development agency.
"The lack of communication with area media was based on a misinterpretation of communications that we had with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity outlining various state economic development programs that potentially could be available," said Toney Watkins, company CEO. "I apologize for any difficulties this may have caused.
The release says that should the land swap at Pyramid be approved, the company would exchange a parcel of "equal size and attributes" for the park, and that the company would also give the state funds for improvement of those acres.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday quoted Boyer as saying that the DCEO told representatives from the Toney Watkins Company to refrain from talking with the press until Gov. Rod Blagojevich formally announces the project.
However, in an interview with the Associated Press, Boyer said there was "just a misunderstanding" and that the DCEO told developers they could not discuss any negotiations with the state publicly. Boyer said the company believed that meant they could not discuss the project publicly at all.
More details on the project should be announced next week, Boyer said.
--Craig Shrum
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 1:27 PM CDT
DuQuoin Evening Call June 12, 2007
PERRY COUNTY - If developers proposing a convention resort in western Perry County can clear several hurdles--including concerns from environmental group about a possible land swap with Pyramid State Park--Southern Illinois is the location of choice for a development that proponents say would bring over 2,500 jobs to the area.
"This is the site that they are settling on, that they want to be at," said Geri Boyer, project engineer for Belleville's Kaskaskia Engineering Group, which has worked for the last 10 months with the Toney Watkins Company of Glen Carbon to establish a convention destination in Perry County.
Boyer said in a telephone interview this morning that although previous statements from the Toney Watkins Company indicated other sites across the country had also been under consideration, Perry County is where the company wants to build its 10,000-acre development.
"If everything comes together, it's clear to go for Perry County," Boyer said.
Developers are ready to begin construction at the site as early as this fall, should the proposal clear legislative hurdles.
"We've been meeting with legislators ongoing for probably the last year," Boyer said. "We met with environmentalists last Thursday in Springfield, along with Sen. (Dave) Luechtefeld and Rep. (Dan) Reitz."
Reitz, a Steeleville Democrat, asked fellow House members last week to approve a measure authorizing the state's Department of Natural Resources to exchange 2,000 acres at Pyramid State Park with the Toney Watkins Company for comparably priced land.
Reitz said the bill would require a 10 percent bond payment from the corporation on the appraised price of acreage from Pyramid. The company would also have to meet other criteria set forth by the IDNR before moving forward on any land swap that might be approved in the future.
"All this bill does is give IDNR the right to transfer land if this group meets all the standards that they have to meet," Luechtefeld said last week. "It's not a bill that says it (the land) will be transferred--all it does is give them the power to transfer if this group meets all the requirements."
However, several environmental groups contacted by Reitz--including the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, the Environmental Council and Open Spaces--have questioned whether or not the state should approve a land swap involving acreage currently under the state park system. The environmental groups have are also concerned the convention site would endanger rare birds, including the Henslow's sparrow, in the grasslands at the park.
Boyer said this morning that the Toney Watkins company is continuing dialogue with the environmental groups and said the organizations agreed to e-mail their members for comments regarding the proposed land swap.
"We're going to get back with them and see how we can deal meet with everybody's expectations," Boyer said. "We're just waiting for their constituents to get back with them so that we don't go through this three or four times" before construction.
As early as October, work could begin at the site's first golf course, which Boyer says would be called the World Course.
And developers also are targeting Olympic BMX trials prior to the 2008 Olympics in China, Boyer said.
"The BMX bicycle facility is ready to go, because we are going to build the exact replica of the facility that's being built for the Beijing Olympics so that we can run those trials for the Olympic event," Boyer said.
Once the BMX trail and the golf course are built, Boyer says the complex's first hotel would be the next project for construction workers.
All told, several hotels will be built, including long-term stay accommodations for visitors who will be training at the site, Boyer said. Larger hotels would be built at a later stage of the project's development.
Boyer said that Teens on the Green, a youth golf organization, plans to move its learning center to the Perry County site and would bring in young golfers throughout the year. The BMX trail would attract competitors year-round, as well.
"What we're hoping is that bringing people in for these additional events will spark more use of the World Shooting Complex, also," Boyer said. That attraction, just north of Sparta in Randolph County, regularly draws competitors and their families to the shooting center.
And the Toney Watkins Company plans to add some entertainment of its own to its convention resort. Boyer said the company still plans a complex themed around music of all genres.
The company said in a press release e-mailed to regional media outlets on Monday that it has remained silent on the proposed development so far because of a misunderstanding with the state's economic development agency.
"The lack of communication with area media was based on a misinterpretation of communications that we had with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity outlining various state economic development programs that potentially could be available," said Toney Watkins, company CEO. "I apologize for any difficulties this may have caused.
The release says that should the land swap at Pyramid be approved, the company would exchange a parcel of "equal size and attributes" for the park, and that the company would also give the state funds for improvement of those acres.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday quoted Boyer as saying that the DCEO told representatives from the Toney Watkins Company to refrain from talking with the press until Gov. Rod Blagojevich formally announces the project.
However, in an interview with the Associated Press, Boyer said there was "just a misunderstanding" and that the DCEO told developers they could not discuss any negotiations with the state publicly. Boyer said the company believed that meant they could not discuss the project publicly at all.
More details on the project should be announced next week, Boyer said.
--Craig Shrum