Truck traffic a concern with proposed industrial park at Pheasant Run golf course

With an eye on the impact of increased truck traffic, St. Charles aldermen appear agreeable to a massive industrial park replacing the shuttered Pheasant Run golf course.

Four months after Bartlett-based GSI Family Investments of Arizona LLC purchased the 84.6 acres from the DuPage Airport Authority for $11.275 million, representatives from the Greco/DeRosa Investment Group - whose owners, Eduardo Greco and Ron DeRosa, also own GSI - presented a concept plan to the city's planning and development committee. It calls for a four-building layout encompassing more than a million square feet of space and 13 acres of stormwater detention.

After presenting the project to the plan commission last month, the same issues arose at Monday's planning and development meeting. While the aldermen appear fine with the concept of an industrial park, they said the immense amount of truck traffic coming and going needs to be addressed based on the results of a series of upcoming traffic studies.

DeRosa said he hopes to begin construction in about six months, starting with the eastern portion of the property.

"I have zero problem with the use," said Ward 2 Alderman Rita Payleitner. "I think that's great. My concern is how we finagle the traffic piece."

Russ Colby, the city's community and economic development assistant director, said a comprehensive traffic study should be completed by the time the preliminary plan is applied for in the near future.

"One of the open questions is how many access points will be available and where will the truck traffic be directed," Colby said. "At the time the plan is being presented, we would have enough information to project out the traffic and consider what route the trucks will be using and assess the impacts and whether there's improvements required for the street network."

The area north of the golf course where the Pheasant Run Mega Center once operated was sold to representatives of McGrath Honda and is being renovated into car dealerships. Retail is planned at the southeast corner of Route 64 and Kautz Road to the west of the McGrath Honda facility. The Pheasant Run Resort closed in March 2020.

"As you know, the golf course has been dormant for quite some time," DeRosa said. "We felt that the need for redevelopment of this site could be utilized in an industrial format, very similar to an industrial park. We developed one in Bartlett already, about seven buildings, probably a couple million square feet. We felt the same use could be done here."