UPDATE 3: The city of Joliet, Illinois has clarified that no portion of the racing oval would be impacted by the proposal:
At its meeting on April 16, 2020, the Joliet Plan Commission considered a request by Hillwood Investment Properties (Hillwood) to subdivide a portion of the existing Chicagoland Speedway property, approximately 82.3 acres, for purchase from Chicagoland Speedway, LLC. At the request of the applicant, the Plan Commission voted to table the subdivision request to their meeting on July 16. Under the proposal, the 82.3 acres which is presently used as overflow parking would be developed with future industrial warehouses. Chicagoland Speedway, LLC would continue to own the remaining balance of racetrack property and no portion of the racing oval would be impacted. The July 16 Plan Commission will be broadcast live on the City’s web page for those who wish to follow the status of the proposal: https://www.joliet.gov/departments/city-clerk-s-office/meeting-agendas-minutesvideos Following the vote by the Plan Commission, the matter will move to the City Council for consideration at a future meeting.
There may have been some public confusion and misinformation about the Chicagoland Speedway being sold, as some of the maps and other supporting documents in the Plan Commission packet show that a portion of the proposed subdivision would include a portion of the racetrack. The City’s Subdivision Regulations require that preliminary plats shall include all contiguous holdings of land in the same ownership, accompanied by an affidavit of ownership, which shall include the dates that the respective holdings of land were acquired, together with the land records, reference number, and the recorder’s number of each conveyance to the present owner as recorded in the County Recorder of Deed’s Office. Therefore, the proposed preliminary plat which includes approximately 423 acres, is simply the overall land area that would be subdivided for the proposed land sale. Only the proposed final plat and recording plats, which include the 82.3 acres to be sold, is the land area that would be developed with industrial warehouses.
— joliet.gov/home/showdocument?id=25850 —
UPDATE 2: The future of the Chicagoland Speedway will not be affected by plans for a new industrial complex and the track itself, will be spared, Kickin’ the Tires (KTT) has confirmed.
“Yes, the track would remain,” said Michael Schwarz, Joliet’s Director of the city’s Planning Commission told KTT via email. “The proposed sale only involves accessory parking on the east side of the property.
According to records, Hillwood Investments Partners is applying for the subdivision on behalf of NASCAR Enterprises LLC, which owns 100 percent of Chicagoland Speedway, LLC. Even though the final plat encompasses about half of the track, warehouses planned for the site would not interfere.
See more at Kickin the Tires.
UPDATE: NASCAR is planning to turn part of Chicagoland Speedway into an industrial park, according to sources and public documents, raising the prospect of the track being shuttered in the coming years. NASCAR laid off almost the entirety of Chicagoland’s work force last week after canceling all its events for the year — including its annual Cup race weekend — and documents emerged over the weekend confirming that the sanctioning body is looking at massive changes to the venue.
THE DAILY first reported in March that NASCAR has struck a deal with Dallas-based real estate developer Hillwood to help develop surplus land on NASCAR’s 13,000 owned acres nationwide, and this Chicagoland arrangement will presumably be with Hillwood.
NASCAR insisted in March that the Hillwood deal was not about selling tracks themselves, but the blueprint – mixed with the deep layoffs and canceling of events – are being viewed as ominous signs for the future of the venue as a racing facility.
ORIGINAL POST: During the April 16, 2020, meeting of the Planning Division of Joliet, Ill, the agency tabled public discussion on plans for an item entitled “Final Plat of Chicagoland Speedway Subdivision Unit 1” that would see the creation of a subdivision encompassing much of the existing Chicagoland Speedway.
According to an overlay plat – P-6-20a – provided to Kickin’ the Tires, much of the racetrack would become a new subdivision. However, it is not known for what purpose the land would be utilized. According to public documents, the potential use states, “To allow a future industrial development.”
The plat = dated April 8, 2020 – shows the racetrack being sliced essentially in half diagonally from Turn 2 across to about one-third of the way through the tri-oval and then north to W. Laraway Road. From there, the boundary line runs about a mile east along E. Laraway Road to Wauponsee Glacial Trail and then due south to W. Schweizer Road. The boundary line then goes west along W. Schweizer Road for approximately one half-mile before cutting north to the track’s outer perimeter, then west for about 200-feet and north again to Turn 2. There is also a 600-foot land barrier around the entire boundary of the proposed subdivision.
See more at Kickin the Tires.
AND:
'@NASCAR aligned with Hillwood in a deal revealed in March, though it said that the pact is to re-develop surplus land and not sell tracks themselves.
➖ Auto Club Speedway and Chicagoland have been mentioned as top candidates for re-development.
📜: https://t.co/5HScyH46B1 pic.twitter.com/KjoSWcu7M9
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) May 10, 2020