Inspectors taking look at mold problems at Eagle Creek
SPRINGFIELD – It will be at least two more months until companies are able to bid to acquire the mold-infested Eagle Creek Resort and Conference Center on Lake Shelbyville.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources had planned to open requests for proposals to operate the 138-room resort on Nov. 10. But on Friday the agency moved the deadline to Jan. 15, citing the need to complete an assessment of the mold damage at the resort.
The property was closed by court order in July. Its former owners, Chicago-area businessmen Barry Shiffman and Edwin Edelberg, abandoned Eagle Creek, owing millions to banks, the Army Corps of Engineers, small businesses and the state.
An earlier inspection of the 22-year-old resort, performed for the Marine Bank, found "extensive fungal amplification" in a hotel wing of the resort. It did not estimate a cost for remedying the problem.
A new assessment of the extent of the mold problem, to be performed for the Department of Natural Resources, will cost about $20,000, said DNR spokesman Chris McCloud. It will include an estimate of the cost of mold remediation.
"We are going to proceed with a mold study to get a better handle on the extent of the mold," McCloud said. "It should take about a month. The next six weeks after that can be used by potential bidders to digest the information."
The state is undertaking the study, he said, "because we want folks to make the most informed decision possible."
McCloud said he didn't know how many individuals or groups were prepared to make bids on Nov. 10, "but we are encouraged by the level of interest that people are putting forth. Obviously if there wasn't any interest, we wouldn't have gotten feedback to the point where we thought we needed to extend the RFP and provide more information."
At its peak, Eagle Creek employed more than 200 people and served as an economic engine for the Shelbyville area.
"We feel this is something we need to do," McCloud said. "It is our responsibility to the county and to the local folks who rely on this place."
The resort, about 70 miles southwest of Champaign-Urbana, is on land owned by the Army Corps of Engineers.
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