McGrath Honda of St. Charles asking for $5.2 million incentive from city to relocate to former Pheasant Run Mega Center

ST. CHARLES – McGrath Honda of St. Charles is asking for a $5.2 million incentive from the city to expand and relocate to the former Pheasant Run Mega Center.

Plans call for the redevelopment of the 12-acre site and to expand the existing Mega Center building into a 52,000-plus square-foot dealership and service facility. The proposal would allow for the retention of 60 jobs with an average salary of $52,000 along with the addition of 40 employees, according to a memo from City Administrator Mark Koenen.

Aldermen will discuss the proposal at the St. Charles City Council's Planning and Development Committee meeting on Monday. McGrath is under contract to purchase the Mega Center property.

Pheasant Run Resort closed its doors March 1 following a failed attempt to auction off the resort. It had first opened in February 1963 and was annexed by the city in 1965.

The final bid to purchase the resort was $6 million, which did not meet the minimum selling price established by the seller. The auction did not include the sale of the Mega Center or a 18-hole golf course.

McGrath Honda's current location at 1411 E. Main St. is approximately 2.9 acres and is insufficient for its current and projected demands, the memo stated.

"McGrath Honda has acquired several off-site parcels that are used for inventory storage to support sales at the dealership site; however, the only long-term solution is to relocate the dealership to a larger site," Koenen said in the memo.

Gary McGrath, the president and owner of McGrath Honda of St. Charles, plans to turn the western portion of the 12-acre site into a 50,000-plus square foot dealership and service facility that will use 500 of the 800 available parking spaces.

"The remaining 300 spaces on the eastern side of lot one have the potential to be developed into a second dealership at a later date," Koenen said.

McGrath is asking for the incentive because of "certain certain extraordinary costs," the memo stated.

"The proposed incentive terms provide funds from the city to contribute towards the site’s utility improvements as well as a sales tax rebate retention incentive," Koenen said.

Florida-based St. Charles Resort, LLC wants to divide the 46.13 acres located at the southeast corner of Route 64 and Kautz Road into three commercial lots. The Mega Center and the adjacent parking field comprise lot one and lot two consists of the former resort buildings.

Lot three is the mostly undeveloped corner parcel at Main Street and Kautz Road.