Vequity Pitches Retail Village at Former Pheasant Run

The last undeveloped piece of the former Pheasant Run Resort in suburban Chicago could soon get a commercial reboot — with some public help.

A development group is proposing 12 to 15 buildings with retail, restaurants and potentially a hotel on nearly 34 acres at the former resort site at 4051 East Main Street in St. Charles, and is asking the city for $3.3 million in incentives to make the deal work. The Daily Herald reported that the project, dubbed The Shops at Pheasant Run, would rise at the southeast corner of East Main Street and Kautz Road.

Chicago-based Vequity submitted a concept plan for the site through an LLC dubbed SC Landman. Vequity acquired the property in April after the last remaining resort structures were demolished the year prior. The parcel represents the final chapter in the redevelopment of the once-sprawling Pheasant Run property, which has steadily been carved up since the resort shuttered.

City staff is reviewing the proposal, while the developers gather feedback. Once that process wraps, the group will decide whether to formally pursue the project.

To get there, the developers are seeking $3.3 million in city assistance to offset what they describe as “extraordinary development costs,” including soil and environmental remediation, and to achieve a “reasonable rate of return,” according to city documents. The site sits within the Pheasant Run tax-increment financing district, which was created with the expectation that redevelopment would require public subsidy due to the property’s condition.

The land once held Pheasant Run’s main resort buildings and hotel, which were destroyed in a massive 2022 fire while the property sat vacant. Two teenagers were later placed on probation for starting the blaze.

Two site plans were submitted for review. Both envision a mix of service-oriented retail and dining. One version shows a gas station, hotel and urgent care facility on the east end of the site, while the other swaps in a car dealership. Either plan would introduce new driveways, shared access points and a stormwater detention area, with entrances off Kautz Road, East Main Street and Pheasant Run Drive.

Several components would require zoning relief, including approval for multiple drive-through uses — a point city officials have already flagged. During a December plan commission meeting, staff also pushed for a more pedestrian-friendly layout, calling for sidewalks along storefronts, internal walkways connecting individual lots and paths around the detention area.

City officials encouraged public art, upgraded landscaping and a cohesive architectural approach across the development. Despite the critiques, the city has expressed “general support” for the concept, according to documents.

Elsewhere on the former resort grounds, redevelopment has leaned heavily toward auto and industrial uses. Two car dealerships now occupy 21 acres, while the former golf course has been transformed into an 85-acre industrial park with three warehouses completed and a fourth underway.

— Eric Weilbacher