Monday, Jul. 06, 2009

$400 million subdivision still stalled in Caseyville

CASEYVILLE -- No, the $400 million Forest Lakes subdivision isn't dead. At least not according to Mayor George Chance.

"But I would say it's in dire need of help," Chance said.

More than four years have passed since developer Caseyville Sport Choice, of Bakersfield, Calif., announced plans to build 625 luxury homes -- with some costing upwards of $1 million -- and a golf course on nearly 500 acres of land off Illinois 159.

Since then, not a single house has arisen. Nor can anyone say when construction will begin.

"I was told probably a month ago that within the next two months they're going to start building houses," Chance said. "But I've been told that before."

Chance blamed the stalled progress on the sorry state of the national economy in general, and the collapse of the housing market in particular.

But he expressed optimism about the project's future.

"I don't see how anybody could walk away from something as spectacular as that could be," he said. "And to put all the money and work and effort that they've put into it and say it's dead, I'm not going to believe that."

Glenn Hierlmeier, the chief executive officer of Sport Choice, LLC, of Bakersfield, Calif., did not return calls seeking comment.

Harold Belsheim, of O'Fallon, the firm's Illinois agent, also did not return several calls seeking comment.

No one can accuse the village of Caseyville of not upholding its end of the deal.

The village wasted little time creating a tax increment financing district for the development. By December 2004, the village completed the sale of $31 million in bonds to pay for infrastructure, including streets, sidewalks and sewer lines.

The clock is ticking on interest payments owed to the holders of the $31 million in bonds that were sold in 2003 and 2004.

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