Another Hit For Hoffman

The Village of Hoffman Estates, which recently took over ownership of the Sears Centre, took another blow to its dream of constructing an entertainment district with a foreclosure lawsuit reportedly filed against the developer of an indoor water park, hotel and conference center.

Citizens First National Bank filed the suit for non-repayment of a $7.6 million loan due last June, according to the local Daily Herald citing a Chicago real estate news Web site.

It would mark the latest setback for the planned Prairie Stone Business Park, which contains the Sears Centre. The economy and other factors already forced developers Water Park H20tels Prairie Stone LLC to put an $85 million hotel and conference center on the back burner for years.

Construction had not even begun on the project, which was proposed nearly four years ago, according to Chicago Business.

Another project on hold is the proposed 8,900-seat Prairie Creek Amphitheatre next door to the site. That stalled in 2008 over noise concerns, and plans are now reportedly on hold indefinitely because of the economy and difficulty of financing such projects.