Hollywood Casino eying relo to Rock Run Crossings?

Cullinan Properties said Friday it still has only one confirmed user for the future Rock Run Crossings, and it’s not Hollywood Casino Joliet.

But a spokeswoman would not confirm or deny that the developer is talking with Hollywood Casino about moving to the site being developed at Interstates 55 and 80.

“I wouldn’t confirm or deny if we were in negotiation with anyone specifically,” Cullinan spokeswoman Anaise Berry said. “We do that to protect the confidentiality of those whom we are talking with at the site.”

Talk for months is that one of those Cullinan is talking with is Hollywood Casino, and the rumor this week escalated to appearances on media websites. But it’s officially no comment from both the developer and Hollywood Casino owner Penn National Gaming.

“Per company policy, we do not comment on rumors or speculation in the market,” Penn spokesman Jeff Morris said in an email.

The Rock Run Crossings site, which is now 311 acres after Cullinan recently acquired an additional 46 acres, is seen as a potential destination point for a wide swath of Illinois because of its location at the crossing of two interstates that span the width and length of the state.

The project is a mixed-use development with plans for retail, restaurants, entertainment, hotels, office buildings and residences.

The one tenant confirmed for the site is Regal Cinemas, which was announced in early 2019.

Cullinan representatives in the past have said they expect entertainment to become a larger component for the development, although they have not named potential users.

Penn National Gaming would need to get approval from the Illinois Gaming Board before it could move the casino. The company has not made an application to the board for a new location.

The Rock Run Crossings has no body of water on which a casino could be located, a requirement when casino gambling was made legal in Illinois in the early 1990s. But a state law enacted in 2019 allowed for land-based casinos.

Penn National Gaming in 2019 was eying an Interstate 88 location for its Hollywood Casino Aurora, according to a report at the time in the Aurora Beacon-News. But the casino remains in downtown Aurora.

Rivers Casino in Des Plaines is the only land-based casino in Illinois.

Access to the Rock Run Crossings site is being enhanced by a new I-55 interchange yet to be built at Route 59. The interchange is seen as a key component to sparking development of the site.

Berry said Cullinan hopes to begin construction for Regal Cinemas in 2022.

She would not discuss any other prospective tenants, including Hollywood Casino.

“But we are talking with many potential tenants,” Berry said. “We have many deals in the works.”