QuikTrip is slated to begin construction on its now-$20-million development in south Kankakee.

Honest.

“Patience is a virtue,” Kankakee Mayor Chris Curtis said after Monday’s Kankakee City Council meeting where the project’s final plat on its nearly 10-acre site was approved for the northeast corner of the U.S. Routes 45-52 and RiverStone Parkway intersection.

Skyler Evans, QuikTrip real estate project manager, said after the vote a few loose ends are needed to be completed regarding utilities, but construction is set for late January or early February.

The project will require a 40-week build meaning the location should be open by mid-November.

The 4th Ward site will feature eight gasoline fuel pumps and four diesel pumps. Evans said the 5,400-square-foot brick building will also feature a fast-food restaurant, but that company has not yet been secured.

“It’s been almost five years for this development to take place,” Evans said after gaining the council’s vote. “We are super excited.”

The Tulsa, Okla.-based company already has nine locations within the greater Chicago area, Evans said.

The project has been plagued by many delays, chief among them have an entrance along U.S. Routes 45-52. The plans for an entrance and exit along the four-lane highway ultimately was not allowed by the Illinois Department of Transportation. That decision set the company back to the drawing board.

IDOT said having an entrance along the highway would be an issue once plans for the new $80-plus-million interchange at 308 are finalized.

The entrance and exit points for the station will be along RiverStone Parkway.

The station will likely have a staff of 20-25 full- and part-time employees.

When the development was first announced, its carried with it a project cost of $12 million. Evans joked it was time to get the development moving before its cost grew even higher.

As part of the development agreement between QuikTrip and Kankakee, QuikTrip turned over to the city the long-vacant former RiverStone Conference Center for $1.15 million.

The conference center closed in 2017 and has been shuttered since.

The city plans to rehab the conference center and costs are expected to be in excess of $2 million.

After the council meeting, Curtis said a project manager for the rehab could be hired in early 2026 and site work could be happening by spring 2026.

If this timeline holds, Curtis said the conference center could be up and running by January 2029.

Regarding the QuikTrip lengthy timeline, Curtis said some projects just don’t fall into place quickly.

He pointed to the lengthy timeframe needed for the Ricky Rocket Fuel Center project along East Court Street at the 312 interchange along Interstate 57.

“We knew all along it would happen,” he said of QuikTrip. “Real estate takes time. I always had confidence this would happen.”