State Seeks Proposals For Redeveloping Eagle Creek Resort
Eagle Creek Resort in better days, before mold problems forced it to close in 2009. Illinois Issues
Nine years after it was closed due to mold and financial problems, state officials are asking potential developers to submit proposals for reopening the Eagle Creek Resort at Lake Shelbyville.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources issued a formal Request For Proposals, asking state-licensed developers to submit their proposals for redeveloping the Eagle Creek Resort by late April.
The last developer of the resort gave up in 2014, after arguing with the state over who would pay for some of the repairs. State lawmakers who represent the area now say no public funds will be used for the project.
Still, State Representative Brad Halbrook says he thinks the site in the Eagle Creek State Recreation Area in Shelby County will attract some interest.
“There’s been interest in potential developers over the past few years,” said Halbrook. “And now that we know that things are moving forward, hopefully there will be developers come forward.”
Halbrook says the Eagle Creek site offers boating, fishing camping and golfing (the course at the resort was reopened in 2014) in a small-town setting — all things he hopes that a developer will find attractive.
It’s unlikely that redevelopment of the resort will involve the original resort building. A state-commissioned engineer’s assessment says the best solution for the building’s mold and other problems would be to tear it down and put up a new one.