Latest / Illinois Valley - Shaw Local / Sale of Fox River Resort in doubt following community push back
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- 0:05Speaker 1: Sale of Fox River Resort in doubt following community pushback.
- 0:10Written by Matthias Werner, this article is being read by
- 0:14an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. The company
- 0:19considering purchasing the shuttered Fox River Resort is reevaluating its
- 0:23plans after public opposition to the project. V Resort Living,
- 0:27a company with a background in real estate and tech startups,
- 0:31said in a news release that it was reconsidering its
- 0:33purchase of the resort outside Sheridan. While CEO and founder
- 0:37Jamil Ahmed said the project had much support, many residents
- 0:41in Sheridan opposed it for that reason. We are currently
- 0:45reassessing project and evaluating the path forward, Ahmed said in
- 0:50the release. We believe that successful developments require trust, transparency,
- 0:54and community support. No investment is worth creating a necessary
- 0:58division between neighbors. V Resort Living had planned to hold
- 1:03an open house event on Sunday, June seventh as a
- 1:06step in the purchasing process, before public backlash led to
- 1:09the company canceling the event and the company's reconsideration of
- 1:13the entire project. The cancelation led to county personnel commenting
- 1:18on the rampant spread of information concerning this shuttered one
- 1:22hundred sixty four acre facility at this month's meeting of
- 1:25the LaSalle County Board. LaSalle County Land Use Department Director
- 1:30Brian Gift said at a recent board meeting that the
- 1:33potential buyer has not fully closed on the property and
- 1:37the deed has not been transferred, despite social media posts
- 1:40claiming otherwise, no purchase has been finalized. James reed Arsandwich
- 1:46opposed the plan based on information he had seen on
- 1:48social media. The original pamphlet that went out very clearly
- 1:53stated that this would be a gated, fenced community operating
- 1:57under strict Sharia law. He said, I don't know about
- 2:00anybody else in this room, but I served three years
- 2:02in the Middle East. That is not conducive to the
- 2:06Constitution of the United States. In a separate statement released
- 2:10by the company regarding the cancelation, Ahmad clarified some misconceptions
- 2:14about the company's vision for the currently closed resort. V
- 2:18Resort Living is not a project for one group of people,
- 2:22It is a project for everyone. The statement read, our
- 2:26vision has always been to create a beautiful resort style
- 2:29community where families can thrive, seniors can enjoy retirement, professionals
- 2:34can find peace and balance, and neighbors can build meaningful relationships.
- 2:39Ahmed said that the proposed plan for the acquisition of
- 2:42the resort was to purchase the property on or around
- 2:45the date of July ninth, before working with the county
- 2:48on rezoning the space for condominiums and residences, a process
- 2:51that he said was clearly communicated to representatives of LaSalle County.
- 2:56We believe that strong communities are built on respect, kindness,
- 3:00and inclusion, not division. Our goal is to bring positive
- 3:04investment to the area, create jobs, support local businesses, increase tourism,
- 3:10improve property values, and contribute to the long term growth
- 3:13of the region. The statement continued. We respect our neighbors,
- 3:17value the history of the community, and look forward to
- 3:20building relationships with people of all backgrounds, faiths, and cultures.