Hotel and Gas Station Possible for Northwest Corner of Route 6 and Interstate 55

If all goes as planned, the property on the northwest corner of Route 6 and the Interstate 55 Interchange in Channahon will be a planned unit development that includes a gas station and a hotel.

At the board meeting on Monday Chananhon trustees will vote on the annexation agreement. But the property has not yet been acquired by the developer.

“What has to happen is Bluestone has to complete its transaction with the Hammel family,” Channahon Community Development Director Mike McMahon said.

Bluestone Retail Partners LLC is planning to develop just under 14 acres of the property, which is on the northwest corner of the intersection. The remaining property, on the south side of the street, is not part of the proposed development. All of the property  is currently owned by the Hammel family.

The property once housed Treasure Island Mobile Home Park, which was torn down nearly a decade ago.

If the Channahon Village Trustees approve the annexation agreement at the meeting on Dec. 3, the next step is for them to consider the zoning of the property. All annexed properties come into the village as Residential 1.

The property would need to be C4, Automotive Service District, with a special use permit for a planned unit development.

The PUD would specify that there is no overnight truck parking allowed, that a portion of the property must be a hotel and that the property is allowed to erect a highway sign, something McMahon said is currently not allowed in the village code.

“There is a lot on the site plan, lot 4, that will be marketed solely for a limited hotel use,” McMahon said. “Once the annexation agreement is adopted, (the developer) will have two years for that to be the only purpose.

“After two years, they can market it for other businesses.”

At what cost

McMahon said trustees are happy to see development on the property that for years stood only as an eyesore at the entrance to the village. But, considering the issues the village has faced with truck traffic from nearby Pilot, there are concerns.

“Part of this project is the realignment of the Frontage Road,” McMahon said. “They are going to swing the frontage road approximately 800 feet to the northwest, to align with the Frontage Road by the McDonalds.”

Once the realignment is complete, there is the additional question of the possibility of a traffic light at the newly-formed intersection.

“As Bluestone goes through their process of designing the road … we would have to petition IDOT to vary from that 1,250 foot standard (between traffic signals), McMahon said. “We feel it’s warranted.”

The proposed development was recommended for approval by both the planning and zoning board and the Community Economic Development Commission.

“I think it’s reality,” McMahon said. “The board realizes that this is right off the highway.

“There’s not a lot of uses that would generate the type of revenue that this one would; the reality is that the trucks are here and the village should take advantage of it.”

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Editor's Note: A typo was corrected in this post. Patch regrets the error.