Developers will break ground on Thursday on a mixed-use project in O'Fallon, Illinois, that will include recreation facilities for nearby McKendree University.
The McKendree Metro Rec Plex will be built a few miles west of McKendree's Lebanon, Illinois, campus and will be part of a 45-acre development called the Four Points Center that will include retail and office space, as well as the recreation facility.
University officials said the Rec Plex will have two NHL‐sized ice rinks, a championship swimming pool, a recreational swimming pool, a half‐court basketball court, a fitness facility, a walking track and office space. The center will be open to the public as well as home to the university’s hockey and aquatic teams and a local youth hockey association.
“The McKendree community is thrilled to be a participant in this important community endeavor," said McKendree President James M. Dennis. "Our students will benefit by having a world-class facility on our extended campus."
Officials expect the facility will be completed in 2016.