Six Flags Entertainment Village

Six Flags Entertainment Village was a proposed 134-acre (54 ha) resort complex in Gurnee, Illinois, United States, to the west of Six Flags Great America, across Interstate 94. With its land owned by Six Flags and developed by Prism Development Co., the resort would have cost around US$400 million. It was expected to feature a water park, hotel, outdoor shopping mall, and theater.

Six Flags Entertainment Village

Concept art for Six Flags Entertainment Village. Six Flags Great America can be seen in the top left of the concept art.
Location	Gurnee, Illinois, USA
Coordinates	42°22′01″N 87°56′37″W
Opening date	2000 (planned)
Developer	Prism Development Co.
Owner	Six Flags
Architect	Richard de Flon

This project was intended to generate over US$5,000,000 a year, projected to draw in 400,000 visitors annually, and would have been built in multiple phases, planned to open in 2000, and completely finish by 2002.^[1]

Opposition to Six Flags Entertainment Village arose in 1998, with disapproval from the president of Long Grove, Illinois. She was joined by a citizens group titled the "Citizens United, a Residential Village of Gurnee" (CURV), which was formed to cancel the project, citing congestion and rising tax prices as reasons for the disapproval of the resort. Plans for the complex fell through in 1999 after Gurnee residents had mainly voted against the proposed resort.

History

Background

In 1972, Marriott had purchased 600 acres (240 ha) of land around the Interstate 94 tollway, which was split by the tollway. The land to the east of Interstate 94 would be occupied by the Marriott's Great America (now Six Flags Great America) theme park, while the land to the west of Interstate 94 would be planned for a future hotel expansion. During construction of the theme park, the land to the west was occupied by early administrative offices and warehouses.^[2] Originally, an interchange was planned in 1973 by the Marriott Corporation on Interstate 94 but was rejected because the interchange could not lead into private property.^[3]

1997: Announcement and planning

Plans for a 136-acre (55 ha) resort complex were announced at a Gurnee board meeting on October 29, 1997. Titled Six Flags Entertainment Village, it would be on a separate plot of land west of Six Flags Great America, across Interstate 94, with the tollway dividing the two properties. It was described as "pedestrian-friendly," with small shops, a theme park, hotel, and a stadium included in the plans for the resort. The feasibility of the resort would be studied by a panel appointed by the then-mayor of Gurnee, Richard Welton.^[4][5] On October 30, 1997, the panel announced it would need more time to study and discuss the plans for the project, as they needed to develop recommendations on the project.^[6]

Gurnee officials later created an oversight committee on November 3, 1997, to keep the Gurnee village board updated on details after a trustee voiced concerns about the board being "out of the loop." This committee would operate independently from another committee that operates with developer Prism Development.^[7]

The details of the project were also elaborated upon, with the project including a four-star hotel, water theme park, and an 8,000 to 12,000-seat stadium complex.^[7] The Gurnee board postponed the appointment of the oversight committee a week after, on November 10, 1997, after the board had voted to invite Prism Development. Welton recommended that the board should be updated on the project's status before trustees were appointed for the oversight committee.^[8]

Prism Development proposed an interchange near Washington Street after stating that it was "absolutely required" for the project "to become a reality," as it would divert traffic from the main entrance at Grand Avenue and would allow guests to instead get into both properties from either side. Part of the plan also included widening Washington Street into a four-lane road. Despite the proposition, consultants from Metro Transportation Group Inc. stated that the interchange would be necessary once later phases of the project began, with the estimation of phase one starting in 1999 and phase two starting in 2002. Additionally, the interchange would also require approval from the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, Lake County, Illinois, and the village of Gurnee. Welton said the project was still preliminary and would have to go through the Plan Commission of Gurnee and the Village Board. However, Welton stated the interchange would create additional opportunities.^[9][10]

1998: Government approval and resident opposition

In a letter to a Lake County board chair on June 10, 1998, village president of Long Grove, Illinois, Lenore Simmons, said Gurnee "failed to be a good neighbor" after concerns over Six Flags Entertainment Village's potential to deplete highway funds to work on the four-lane expansion on Washington Street. Welton charged back by stating developments near Washington Street had to pay impact fees, including Gurnee Mills, which also had to pay US$4 million in infrastructure payments.^[11] Welton also stated the street was already congested before the proposal of the complex, and the complex would be used to solve the problems.^[12]

Changes to the initial proposition were announced at a joint meeting on June 18, 1998, with officials from Prism Development and Six Flags Great America, along with architect Richard de Flon, with the area of the project being reduced to 134 acres (54 ha) from the initial 136-acre (55 ha) size, and excluding the 8,000 to 12,000 seat stadium, and opting in for building a water park, hotels, housing for employees, restaurants, shops, a theater along with other buildings. The changes included a request for a special-use permit to use the planned site, initially zoned for industrial use. However, the zoning board disagreed with the proposition and suggested Six Flags and Prism meet at a different time.^[13]

The Gurnee plan commission officially endorsed the proposal for Six Flags Entertainment Village in November 1998, although it sparked opposition within the village towards the resort.^[14] Later that month, the 10-member citizens' group named Citizens United for a Residential Village of Gurnee (shortened to CURV) was formed, stating how commercial development is negatively impacting the village, and cited congestion as the main reason for opposition.^[15] In the following month, a petition by CURV was created so the village could include a question on every ballot whether or not the resort should be built.^[16]

Despite resident opposition, the village of Gurnee approved plans to build the complex on December 8, 1998.^[17]

1999: Village vote and cancellation

In early-February 1999, the question of whether or not the resort should be built was included in the ballot after the petition had reached its signature goal.^[18] Later that month, on February 24, 1999, traffic planners had suggested expanding I-94 to Washington Street, which had planned to divert traffic from the Grand Avenue interchange. The suggestion came with opposition from business owners within the Grand Tri-State Business Park, citing that the park was a limited access area and did not want traffic towards the business park, affecting property values. The election results were released in April 1999, and it was revealed that more than half of Gurnee residents disagreed with the village board's plan to construct the Six Flags Entertainment Village.^[19] The project was officially canceled in October 1999 after three years of planning and development.^[20]

2000s—present: Post-cancellation

Plans to build a water park near Six Flags Great America succeeded in 2004, when the park announced they would build a new 13-acre (5.3 ha) water park.^[21][22] Unlike the Entertainment Village, the water park would be located on the same plot of land as Six Flags Great America. It would be adjacent to the theme park, replacing the preexisting theme park's west parking lot.^[23] Named Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, the water park opened on May 28, 2005, as a US$42 million expansion to Six Flags Great America.^[24][25][26]

Complex layout

Type	Proposed date	Notes	Ref.
Water park	October 1997	Intended to be a "water theme park"	[7]
Shopping mall	October 1997	Outdoor shopping mall	[4][5]
Stadium	October 1997	8,000 to 12,000 seat stadium; removed	[4][5]
Employee housing	June 1998	Housing for seasonal employees	[13]
Restaurants	June 1998	Part of the shopping area	[13]
Theater	June 1998	A performing arts theater	[13]
Movie theater	December 1998	Intended to replace original performing arts theater	[16]
Resort-style hotel	October 1997	500 rooms, intended to be a four star hotel	[7]
Conservation area	August 1998	25 acres (10 ha)	[27]
Convention center	October 1997	—	[4][20]
Pond	June 1998	Intended for paddleboarding and ice skating	[1]

See also

• Marriott's Great America (Maryland–Virginia), a proposed theme park which was canceled due to resident opposition
• Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Chicago, a water park next to Six Flags Great America, which opened in 2005