The Rock Run Collection mixed-use retail and industrial development along I-55 and I-80 in Joliet is coming together following Council action on Tuesday.
The Joliet City Council Tuesday unanimously approved a $37 million tax incentive package that will bring Dick’s Sports, a 100,000-plus-square-foot retail store that also includes a climbing wall, multiple golf bays with a putting green and multi-sport cages that can be used for baseball, softball, lacrosse and soccer to the site. A possibility of a ice hockey rink is also under consideration.
Once it opens, Dick’s House of Sport will join Hollywood Joliet Casino, which opened last August. In April, there was a ground-breaking ceremony for a new seven-story Drury Plaza Hotel that will be built in front of the casino.
The $37 million general obligation bonds the city plans to issue will pay developer Cullinan Properties the cost of developing Dick’s House of Sport and other retail projects. But the $37 million bond will only be paid in phases and only when stores are open and taxes are paid, according to a spokesman for Cullinan Properties.
The spokesman told the council Tuesday that the Rock Run project will bring 8,000 construction jobs to Joliet, creating $510,000 million in wages; and 5,000 permanent positions, creating $200 million in wages.
Additionally, there is The View apartment buildings at Rock Run Collection and a Ricky Rockets gas station and convenience store that is currently being constructed. In terms of restaurants, Chipotle Mexican Grill opened on the opposite side of the road on Gateway Boulevard and a new Culver’s and Chick-fil-A are also expected to open later this year.
Kevin Sing, Joliet’s finance director, said the city back in 2022 approved a development agreement to transform the area into a premier mixed-used destination.
“The city issued $100 million in bonds to finance public improvements,” he said. “Since 2022, the developer completed the interchange, some site infrastructure, the casino, industrial uses and a Chipotle. Construction is ongoing on a 264-unit apartment project.”
But Sing in his memo told the council that the city now has the opportunity to update its agreement to strengthen its position and capture the full potential of the Rock Run development.
“The amendment,” he continues, “reflects an opportunity to secure a major destination anchor tenant and accelerate the overall project timeline. It is structured to better protect the city by tying incentives to actual performance, shifting more risks to the developer and incorporating independent financial analysis to guide decision making. “
Sing said the amended agreement is expected to accelerate the development of the site and generate $237 million in total revenue for the City of Joliet.
City Manager Beth Beatty said she is glad to see “great things keep happening to Joliet.”
“This would put Rock Run Crossing on the map for a top retail destination on I-55 and I-80,” she said.
Mayor Terry D’Arcy commended Beatty on putting together a complex deal many say could not be done.
“The collaboration that put this opportunity together is something I have not seen before,” he said. “We are here for the best of this city. We are committed to moving this project along.”
Dick’s House of Sport has locations throughout the country, including in Champaign; Tennessee; Minnesota; Texas; New York; Pennsylvania; and Florida.
