Ahead in 2025: Stories to watch in Kendall County in the new year

With 2024 in the books, the here are a few of the stories Shaw Local News Network is keeping an eye on as we begin 2025.

Indoor golf course

Work on the world’s first indoor golf experience that replicates a real golf course could begin this year. At the Sept. 17 Oswego Village Board meeting, village trustees unanimously approved the concept plans of Canada-based Megalodome Golf to construct four 270,000 square foot golf domes that would house the 9-hole golf course along with a practice facility. An 8,000 square-foot clubhouse also is proposed.

The applicant’s website refers to the project as the world’s first indoor golf experience that replicates a real golf course. The project is proposed for 100 acres west of Route 30 and north of Rance Road.

Megalodome Golf president and general manager Bertrand Quentin noted the trees, cactuses and grass that are part of the proposed landscape would be artificial.

“Only the sand and the ponds are natural,” he said.

The property currently is unincorporated and zoned agriculture in Will County. Plans also set aside about 34 acres for potential future development and 7.5 acres for stormwater detention.`

Yorkville schools master plan

Yorkville School District 115 is crafting a facilities master plan to upgrade each school building to better meet the needs of the growing student body. School officials held public hearings at each school in 2024 to gather what their upgrades should prioritize. Common themes include the desire for greater classroom space, a performing arts center auditorium and an athletics field house. In June 2024, the district approved the purchase of a 100-acre property west of the high school campus for more than $2 million. A planning committee comprised of school officials, staff, teachers and students will continue developing a final plan to propose to the board this summer.

County Board working for broadband access

In the new year, the Kendall County Board will continue to work on its goal of improving broadband access to Kendall County residents.

More than 1,900 homes in Kendall County are considered unserved or underserved with internet access, according to county officials. The county has received a $15 million grant from the Illinois Office of Broadband that it is using to develop a public-private partnership that will result in more than $40 million in investment in a community-owned broadband network.

The Kendall County Board approved Denver-based technology firm Pivot-Tech to be the county’s partner for building the broadband system. A major feature of the project will be to establish “anchor points” for the broadband system at police and fire stations, schools, government offices and other public facilities for creating an emergency communications system.

District 88 upgrades

This summer, the Plano School District 88 will continue 2024’s capital and infrastructural building upgrades. The projects are expected to be completed before students return for the 2025 fall semester. The capital projects include renovating school entrances to enhance safety, renovating the high school gymnasium, and upgrading many of the school buildings’ roofs. The district also will be replacing the high school’s track surface and redoing the building’s stairways for better safety. The upgrades are deemed necessary to keep pace with the wear and tear accumulated from the region’s immense population growth stressing the current buildings’ infrastructure.

Hydraulic District renovation

Yorkville planning will continue on renovating the downtown Hydraulic District, including upgrading business facades, installing decorative entryways for visitors, and creating a grassy events area with a music and performance stage. In 2024, city officials applied for multiple million-dollar grants to improve the transportation in the area and safety for pedestrians. These improvements include constructing a one-way street, expanding parking and sidewalks, and creating safety berms along the railroad tracks.

City officials also are planning on reducing the number of train track pedestrian crossings and implementing new technology to make the train tracks both quieter and safer. Long-term planning models by city staff show massive mixed-use business and residential developments running parallel to the train tracks in the downtown area.

Renovation of Kendall County Office Building

Work will begin in the coming weeks of a $9.9 million project to renovate the Kendall County Office Building on the Fox Street campus in downtown Yorkville. The project is expected to be completed by January 2026.

The project will include full renovations to the entire building, except the boardroom and the executive board conference room. The improvements will be paid for from the county’s fiscal 2024 building fund, with the remainder budgeted in the fiscal 2025 building fund.

A new office building for the clerk, recorder and elections offices recently opened next to the Kendall County Office Building.

Kendall Marketplace debate

A planned senior living community adjacent to the Kendall Marketplace has divided City Council and raised concerns among some neighbors that the city is developing too high a concentration of commercial properties in the area.

Some residents have argued greater attention and focus should be spent on making sure existing storefronts are filled and successful before flooding the area with more developments. The Kendall Marketplace has exposure to Route 34 making it a prime area for commercial customers. Some residents argue the development has not brought in the commercial revenues that the city expected years ago.

Cricket stadium

Plans are expected to move ahead on an outdoor cricket stadium proposed for Oswego’s west side. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently determining that it does not have jurisdiction over the wetlands on the property, work on Phase 1 of the project is set to begin in the spring.

Oswego resident Paresh Patel of Chakra360 LLC has submitted plans to build the professional cricket stadium with a clubhouse and restaurant on 33.48 acres at the northwest corner of Orchard Road and Tuscany Trail in Oswego.

In November 2023, Oswego village trustees voted 4-1 to approve a special use permit for Phase 1 of the project, which involves construction of the field and wicket and installation of underground drain tiles.

As part of the second phase of the project, the stadium would be open for use with a seating capacity of 2,000. Phase 3 would bring the capacity up to 6,000 and Phase 4 would increase it to about 14,000 people.

With the seating increased to 14,000, the stadium would be able to accommodate national cricket events. Future plans involve completing second- and third-level stadium seating, which would bring capacity to between 24,000 and 25,000 people.

Microsoft data center

In 2025, Plano will seek to continue being at the forefront of the regional trend of transitioning agricultural lands to technological hubs. In 2024, Microsoft purchased 500 acres of farmland, annexed and rezoned by Plano, to construct a data center campus.

City officials currently are exploring water main and sewer extensions and roadway expansions to make the plans a reality.