Hotel-restaurant complex coming to Highland. Here’s what we know so far

Highland will soon have a new hotel-restaurant complex to enjoy as a new development takes shape on Illinois 40.

Jeff Rehberger is CEO of Midwest Real Estate, born and raised in Highland and a 2006 graduate of Highland High School. Now he’s back in his hometown to build a $50 million hotel and hospitality development.

“Highland is a great town, but it needs additional businesses and services,” Rehberger said. “I’m hoping to bring that to the community.”

In phase one, Rehberger said they plan to bring in a Marriott Fairfield Inn and two retail strip centers with at least three businesses per strip. The hotel will be approximately 80-90 rooms, based on a feasibility study for Highland’s needs, Rehberger said.

The first step is putting in the infrastructure, which will include running two roads through the property. It sits on Route 40 across from the existing KFC/Taco Bell, and the roads will connect through the property to Suppiger Lane, Rehberger said.

As to the retail strips, he is hoping to attract quick-service restaurants.

“One of the restaurants we feel confident will be coming is a Jersey Mike’s,” he said.

Rehberger said while they are in talks with some additional food service operators, he could not reveal their names yet.

Also planned is a premium car wash with a 150-foot tunnel, Rehberger said.

The timeline will run for about 18-24 months for construction before businesses begin to open.

In the meantime, Rehberger is busy constructing Lundy’s gas station/convenience stores in St. Elmo and Crestwood in Illinois as well as running Lucky Lincoln Gaming, managing gaming terminals throughout the state.

He holds two dispensary licenses for his cannabis enterprise, Cloud9, which is building a dispensary in Edwardsville.

This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 4:13 PM.