The former Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles will be demolished bit by bit, after fire and vandalism created a large safety hazard there, city officials said.
St. Charles asked a DuPage County judge to order the demolition of the resort, and the property owners agreed to raze it, court records show. The cost of the demolition will be paid for by the owners Saint Charles Resort, LLC out of Miami Beach, Florida.
Great Lakes Property Services LLC was authorized late last month to take possession of the property and erect a security fence around its perimeter, undertake an environmental evaluation of the buildings and site and obtain bids for demolition, St. Charles officials said.
The city requested all buildings remaining on the site be demolished after large parts of the resort were ruined by a fire in May 2022. Another fire occurred at the property in August 2023.
St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek said demolishing the remaining structures is the best course of action to ensure public safety.
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“This has been a long time coming,” Vitek said in a statement. “We have been pressing the property owners to remedy the deficient safety and security conditions at the site for some time. However, the owner’s efforts have not produced sufficient results, resulting in the city seeking court intervention.”
The 16-story concrete tower building at the site will be taken down bit by bit, instead of by an implosion, because of the building’s proximity to neighboring businesses, including a Culver’s and the Fox Valley Volkswagen car dealership.
DuPage County Judge Bonnie Wheaton ruled last week that Great Lakes Property Services could hire a company to remove all the window panes in the tower building for $18,400.
The tower has a facade of a glass curtain wall and several of the windows are broken. As a result of failure to maintain the property and a lengthy history of vandalism, fires and trespassers, the glass curtain wall has sustained damage and is currently unstable, court records show.
People who continue to trespass onto the property, contractors and first responders are at risk of injury from falling broken glass, city attorneys said.
In May 2022, four teenagers broke in and two set a massive fire that destroyed large sections of the vacant resort. The resort had closed its doors in March 2020 after attempts to auction it were unsuccessful.
The two teens who set the fire both pleaded guilty to felony arson charges and were ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and participate in a fire safety program.
A second fire broke out at the site in August, prompting the city to issue an intent to sue for demolition this fall.
In February, St. Charles City Council members unanimously approved creating a tax increment financing for the site to aid in its redevelopment.
The next hearing to determine future steps for the demolition will be held in DuPage County court on Oct. 26.