South Suburban Crestwood Seeks Casino Proposals
CRESTWOOD, Ill., July 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago south suburban Crestwood, Illinois is seeking proposals from investors and casino operators for development of a casino in the village that would be situated on forty acres of property running along the banks of the Calumet Sag River, just east of Cicero Avenue near 127th Street.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) released by the Village on July 15th (attached) identifies the property chosen for the development and promises the property will be construction ready by December 31st, of this year. Adjacent to the Cal Sag channel, the site provides an opportunity to open access to the waterway for visitors and residents of Crestwood and potentially expand recreational use of a long overlooked natural resource.
With issuance of the RFP, the Village has made clear its intention of petitioning for the Chicago south suburban casino license recently approved by Illinois lawmakers and will use the selected response to the RFP to petition for a gaming license from the Illinois gaming board.
"We have spoken to Crestwood citizens and to community leaders in surrounding villages and they are overwhelmingly in favor of welcoming a new, world class gaming casino to our town," said Lou Presta, Mayor of Crestwood.
Earlier this month, Presta called a special meeting with residents and business leaders of Crestwood to discuss the possibility of inviting a casino developer to the village. He has also privately met with several very large casino operators headquartered both in the United States and Europe who, according to Presta, have expressed keen interest in developing a casino in the village.
Presta also reaffirmed his intentions of sharing casino revenues with other south suburban municipalities. "The revenue from a casino is anticipated to be significant enough to bring positive change to a broad area within Chicago's south suburbs," Presta said. "That can only come about if the casino is placed where it is geographically perfect and the construction and design is environmentally and aesthetically perfect. Crestwood happens to be perfect from a geographical standpoint and we intend to approve a developer that will bring nothing less than a world-class facility to our village," he said.
ISSUING AGENCY: Fanning Communications, Inc.
COPY: John Fanning
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SOURCE South Suburban Crestwood
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