Joliet OKs Hollywood Casino plans to relocate

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved plans allowing for development of the new Hollywood Casino Joliet at Rock Run Crossings.

City approval of the 15-acre plat means at least two projects could be under construction this year at Rock Run Crossings.

The city last year approved plans for a 570-unit apartment complex, which is expected to go under construction this year and would be located near the casino.

Penn Entertainment said in October that it wanted to start construction on the new casino by late this year when it announced the decision to relocate to Rock Run Crossings. The estimated cost of the project is $185 million.

The casino and apartments fit into the multi-use development plan to create a place to live, work, shop and play within the 309-acre development located near the crossing of Interstates 55 and 80.

Developer Cullinan Properties has described the project as a “super-regional” attraction because of its potential to draw people from Chicago to central Illinois to the location at the interstate crossing.

The only other commercial project announced for the site, however, is a Regal Cinemas movie theater. The theater was announced in 2019, but it is not under construction, and Regal’s parent company went into bankruptcy last year.

Ultimate plans for Rock Run Crossings include stores, restaurants, hotels and office buildings – none of which have been landed yet, although the casino is likely to have a hotel with it.

The council Tuesday approved preliminary, final and recording plats for the Hollywood Casino – clearing the way for construction – without discussion.

Mayor Bob O’Dekirk in his State of the City speech last week, however, emphasized the importance of the Rock Run Crossings site, saying it may have kept Hollywood Casino in Joliet.

“There was a serious attempt to get Hollywood to leave Joliet and move to other cities,” O’Dekirk said.

The state is building a new interchange at I-55 and Route 59 to give more accessibility to the Rock Run Crossings development.

Rock Run Crossings will give Hollywood Casino more exposure and accessibility than it has now at its relatively remote location off of Route 6 in what is otherwise an industrial corridor of Joliet. The casino was opened at the site along the Des Plaines River at a time when casinos in Illinois had to be in riverboats.

Illinois now allows casinos to move off water.

Penn Entertainment also is moving its Hollywood Casino Aurora off the Fox River in downtown to another location in that city off Interstate 88.