Developers Present $2 Billion Concept For New STAR Bond District In Glen Carbon

GLEN CARBON – A 1,500-acre piece of mostly vacant farmland in Glen Carbon is set to become the site of several future developments within the village.

Trustees unanimously approved the establishment of a STAR Bond District in Glen Carbon at their Feb. 24, 2026, Village Board meeting. The district’s purpose is to finance the development of future entertainment, retail, and tourism projects through Sales Tax And Revenue (STAR) bonds, according to the village’s STAR Bond District Plan.

Kyle Anderson, CEO of the Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois, spoke in support of establishing the new district at the Feb. 24, 2026, Glen Carbon Village Board meeting.

“STAR bonds are a performance-based tool that allows the community to capture future sales tax and use it to do an amazing development that will attract people from all over,” Anderson said. “This does not increase property taxes, does not shift financial risk onto the residents, and only succeeds when the development itself succeeds.”

Anderson said Glen Carbon is “uniquely positioned” for this STAR Bond District, given the village’s location within a metropolitan area of 700,000 people and noting the proposed district’s proximity to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE).

“This STAR Bond District would allow us to recapture some of that market that goes over to St. Louis for entertainment purposes,” Anderson added. “Not only recapture what we have in Illinois, but attract some wholeheartedly. [I] love the Cardinals, love the Blues, but I would love to spend some more of my money on this side of the river.”

The 1,534-acre district will be located southeast of the intersection of Interstate 270 and Interstate 255 and will mostly be bordered by four major highways in the area. These include Interstate 270 to the north, Illinois 162 to the south, Interstate 255 to the west, and Illinois 157 to the east.

Moran Economic Development prepared an Economic Impact Analysis to illustrate the potential economic benefits of building a variety of mixed-use developments within the village’s new STAR bond district.

Under their project concept layout, various developments could be built at the site under nine different categories of use, including anchor retail, retail, restaurants, entertainment, hotel/hospitality, athletic facilities, residential/office/commercial, public facilities, and future development.

The development cost would total $1.97 billion to construct various buildings totaling 3.5 million square feet under the Moran proposal, which is merely an illustrative concept and does not represent a final site plan or design for the district.

The fully developed site could generate an estimated $714 million in annual sales and draw in approximately 23.7 million annual visitors under the Moran plan. The site’s construction could create 13,750 temporary construction jobs, with the resulting businesses estimated to support 2,790 full-time jobs.

Community Development Director Erika Heil said at last week’s meeting that the village is merely setting the boundaries for where a STAR Bond District would be located within Glen Carbon if its proposal receives state approval. Heil said simply establishing the district does not obligate the village to seek any specific project or construction, and any future project proposals could be approved or rejected by the Village Board.

With unanimous Village Board approval, the proposed STAR Bond District boundaries in Glen Carbon will be considered next by Illinois state agencies, which will have 60 days to evaluate the village’s proposal. If approved, it would then go to the office of Governor JB Pritzker, who would have 30 days to determine whether or not the proposed district meets state requirements.

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