Chicagoland under the latest proposal would continue to own the remaining balance of racetrack propertyGETTY IMAGES
The city of Joliet, Ill., has clarified NASCAR’s plan to turn part of Chicagoland Speedway into an industrial park, saying that while an original blueprint showed the park built on top of the track, that ultimately will not be the case. NASCAR and real estate developer Hillwood are exploring opportunities across the country to leverage surplus land at race tracks, and Chicagoland is one of the first venues to have its plans become public. A blueprint that emerged over the weekend shows the planned industrial park being built on parts of the grounds that include the track itself -- suggesting that the track could eventually be bulldozed. However, Joliet interim City Manager Steve Jones yesterday in a statement said this document was just a preliminary plan turned in by Hillwood. Jones acknowledged that “some of the maps and other supporting documents in the Plan Commission packet show that a portion of the proposed subdivision would include a portion of the racetrack.” However, he indicated that “only the proposed final plat and recording plats, which include the 82.3 acres to be sold, is the land area that would be developed with industrial warehouses.”
BREAKING DOWN THE DEAL: Under the final proposal, which was not public before yesterday, Hillwood would subdivide the land by buying 82.3 acres that is currently being used as overflow parking and turning it into industrial warehouses. Chicagoland “would continue to own the remaining balance of racetrack property and no portion of the racing oval would be impacted.” The deal between NASCAR and Hillwood was originally scheduled to be discussed at Joliet’s Plan Commission meeting in April but was delayed until July.
LONG-TERM FUTURE UNCERTAIN: Chicagoland's long-term future still remains somewhat unclear, as NASCAR drastically reduced the track's staff last week and the sanctioning body has also looked into holding a street race near downtown Chicago around Soldier Field. The track canceled all its events for ’20 last week due to the pandemic. NASCAR is not expected to release its ’21 schedule until around July.
