Eco-friendly Green Mill Village near Arcola gets under way
By Tim Mitchell
Monday November 17, 2008
Champaign News-Gazette
This construction site off Illinois 133 near Arcola is part of a project by Green Mill Village that aims to convert 60 acres of farm fields into an eco-friendly tourist attraction.
ARCOLA – A soybean field east of Arcola is being transformed by construction crews into an environmentally friendly resort and tourist attraction.
The developers of Green Mill Village, a partnership between Sullivan-based Agri-Fab and Bob McElwee of Charleston, say the 63.5-acre resort, hotel and conference center will cement Arcola's position as a tourist destination, especially for families from the Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis areas.
Construction on the $30 million eco-friendly resort began in late September, according to Green Mill Director of Marketing Cassie Yoder.
"When it comes to the overall construction and execution of our theme, we think differently," Yoder said. "It's green; it's eco-friendly; and we're emphasizing sustainabliity and responsible tourism."
Arcola City Administrator Bill Wagoner said he's excited about the project.
"There's not a lot to see so far except for 20 tractors and 40 contractors putting in roads, water lines, sewers, drainage and grading work," Wagoner said. "But, as everything on the developers' dream list becomes a reality, it's going to be pretty amazing. We're an optimistic bunch out here."
Scheduled to open in spring 2010, Green Mill Village will include shops, a hotel/conference center, a restaurant, an education center and a spa, all powered using wind turbines and solar energy. Yoder said the development is expected to create more than 200 jobs.
College students from the University of Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University and the University of Wisconsin will work at the resort to gain hands-on experience in tourism, agriculture, engineering, recreation and hospitality management.
Also, Green Mill Village is expected to employ many local Amish to narrate tours of the countryside on trolleys or horse and buggy.
"Green Mill Village will be designed with a 1940s-era theme, reminding visitors of a simpler time with a slower pace," Yoder said.
The centerpiece of Green Mill Village will be the Adventure Center, a place where tourists, school-age children and college students can learn about green practices, energy, wellness and agriculture.
"We'll have hands-on and interactive attractions and video clips that will change throughout the year. Every time you visit, there will be new things to learn about," Yoder said. "We'll tie together things from the past and present with what we think the future will look like."
The Adventure Center will feature the village's primary landmark, a traditional mill built by local Amish craftsmen.
Yoder said the 125-room hotel will be attached to a conference center large enough to accommodate meetings for 500 people banquet-style, with conference attendees encouraged to bring along their families to use the swimming pool or spa or shop in the retail stores.
The shopping center will include a candy store, bakery, wine and cheese shop and furniture shop featuring locally made items.
Green Mill Village plans to market its own "Family Journey" brand of locally made shampoos and soaps, rocking chairs and other furniture, chocolate and apple butter.
"If you like the furniture or bedding in your hotel room or the artwork on the walls, you can buy them in the retail store," Yoder said.
The restaurant will serve organic foods grown from within a 50-mile area around Arcola.
In addition to using the local Amish farmer's market, the resort plans to get its meat from a new organic beef processing plant near Mattoon and an organic chicken farm in Arthur.
There will even be a restored 1940s car that runs on recycled cooking oil from Green Mill Village kitchens.
According to Wagoner, the city has spent $2.5 million from tax-increment-financing money so far to assist with land acquisition, buildings roads and bringing water and sewer service to the site. He said the developers have spent $1.5 million so far to pay for everything else.
Wagoner said Agri-Fab has a history with the community.
"There's a reason why they picked Arcola," Wagoner said. "More than 10 years ago these folks started Midstate Industries (a steel processing company), and they have been looking to diversify over the years."