ROCHELLE — It has been a long road for the North Route 38, LLC developers in regard to their Lighthouse Pointe Subdivision development, which is expected to be anchored by a Super Wal-Mart at the northeast corner of Caron Road and IL Route 38 in Rochelle.

The developers made a preliminary Rochelle Plan Commission presentation in March of 2006, and received Illinois Department of Natural Resources approval for Phase 1 of the project in July of 2007. The most current milestone of the project came recently when the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted its approval of the drainage control of the flood plain site. Now, final plans are expected to be submitted to the plan commission near the end of July with submission to the city council in August or September.

Construction on the site pad of the project began last fall with work on the detention ponds and would have already continued this spring had it not been delayed by heavy rainfall. The property, which includes approximately 60 acres, basically had to be raised out of the flood plain and retention ponds built to handle run off.

“It is my understanding that the final Planned Unit Development plans are being developed for this project, as well as the outlots (one-acre parcels on which other retailers or restaurants may be built) for the Lighthouse Pointe development.

I would expect Wal-Mart to start construction after approval by the city council of the final PUD plat and plan” said Chris Limas, City of Rochelle Community Development Director. “We have received a lot of interest from other retail developers and national companies about Rochelle because of this project. The Wal-Mart project will be the anchor to the Route 38 commercial corridor.”

Peggy Friday, Rochelle Commercial/Retail Development Coordinator/GREDCO, agreed that the Lighthouse Pointe Subdivision development is getting noticed.

“The Buxton CommunityID Study has revealed that based on the buying habits and lifestyles of our citizens, a significant portion of retail sales potential is leaving Rochelle. Because of the Lighthouse Pointe development, we have been able to meet with leading shopping center developers, owners, and retailers who may not have been aware of the economic development opportunities in our community,” Friday said.