ARCOLA, ILL.—Agri-Fab Holding Company (AFHC) and Bob McElwee announced that they are developing about 100 acres into a green village near Arcola, Ill. This resort, called Green Mill Village (GMV), is set to open in the fall of 2009 and will include a lodge/conference center, spa, restaurants, retail center and education center—all operated on wind power and solar power.
“It will be an unprecedented midwestern sustainable project, from both an environmental and an economic standpoint,” McElwee says.
The resort lodge, to be called the Green Mill Hotel, will have 200 rooms and guestrooms will feature furniture made locally. McElwee says there are 70 furniture and cabinet makers within 10 miles of the site. Most building materials will come from within a few miles of the hotel. The goal of the $30 million project will be to get off the local electricity grid as much as possible. The developers intend to pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver—possibly LEED gold—for the project.
Phase I of GMV will include the hotel/conference center, service station, entrance restaurant, spa, children’s park and retail center. The education center, cottages and outdoor recreation areas will be included in Phase II. Phase III will include a second hotel, green nursery, medical/nutritional facility and additional retail space.
Located in the heart of Illinois Amish country, the Green Mill Village site is in the center of a triangle formed by the three major cities of St. Louis, Indianapolis and Chicago, and just over two hours from each. Green Mill Village stands to benefit from the development of the FutureGen Alliance power plant, which will be constructed in nearby Mattoon. The conference center, lodge and spa facility will be designed with a 1940s era theme, reminding visitors of a simpler time with a slower pace. The conference center will accommodate meetings for 500 people banquet style, with a staff trained to support state-of-the-art green meetings. Conference attendees will be encouraged to bring their families along for the adventure.
Development Will Offer Escape from Hectic Pace
“Our modern culture demands that we be involved in more career, family and community responsibilities than we have slots for in our planners,” says GMV developer Bob McElwee. “The only reprieve from this hectic pace comes when we learn to think differently, to remember a simpler time and to focus on ways we can be good—to ourselves, to our family, to our community, and even to our planet. Green Mill Village offers just such a reprieve.”
Green Mill Village will emphasize key elements of responsible tourism, which include not only environmental considerations but also respect and appreciation for different cultures and ensuring that the local people benefit economically from tourism activities. GMV will employ many of the local Amish, who will narrate tours of the countryside on electric trolleys or horse and buggy, and whose homes guests can visit for a meal.
Highlighting the traditional Amish culinary style, GMV will emphasize the provision of healthy food that is safe and grown locally. In addition to using the local Amish farmer’s market, the resort will work with a new organic beef processing plant near Mattoon, Ill., as well as an organic chicken farm in Arthur, Ill. There will even be a restored 1940s car that runs on recycled cooking oil from the GMV kitchens.
“The food that we grow and prepare can have a huge impact on health and wellness,” McElwee says. “Not only will our guests eat locally grown organic, sustainable foods, but they can learn to prepare them in experiential cooking classes.”
The Green Mill Village Educational Center will provide visitors with a snapshot of the region and the village, as well as offer interactive videos focused on agriculture, alternative energy and responsible tourism. The building will take the form of a traditional mill, built by local Amish craftsmen. Some of the education programs will be collaborative efforts between developers and four local colleges: Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Illinois. McElwee will also work with these institutions to bring college students into GMV positions where they can learn on the job in the areas of tourism, agriculture, engineering, recreation and hospitality management.
Spa, Retail Offerings Included
Spa sessions will be included as an option in business meetings as well as in couple and family packages and programs at Green Mill Village. GMV’s retail center will offer a candy store/bakery, a wine and cheese shop, and a furniture shop featuring other locally made items as well. There will be a rocking chair, chocolate and even apple butter that is branded Green Mill Village and sold in the lodge and gift shop. Each of these products will be made locally.
A restaurant and wine bar will be a part of the lodge and conference center. In an effort to further enhance local tourism businesses, Green Mill Village will provide wine for sale from local Illinois wineries and arrange for guests to tour them as it develops its own winery demonstration area. McElwee also plans to establish a major wine festival and other events that would support Illinois wineries, drawing visitors from surrounding states and beyond. The economic impact for the surrounding communities is expected to be huge.
“With the ideal geographic location on Interstate 57 south of Chicago, Green Mill Village is poised to be the leader in bringing Central Illinois businesses and communities together from a tourism and marketing standpoint to strengthen our integrated regional tourism approach,” says Mike Lindenmeyer, a member of the Arcola chamber of commerce.
Finally, the resort will house the headquarters for Modern Traveler Media, which will produce a new sustainable travel magazine, Modern Traveler, for which Bob McElwee has been named publisher. The magazine will educate readers about the choices they can make to be more responsible travelers, and will feature internationally known celebrities in its cover stories, some of which will attend the grand opening of Green Mill Village.
“Travel, by its very nature, is hard on the planet and on the local peoples who play host to tourism throughout the world,” McElwee said. “GMV will demonstrate to guests how easy it is to be an enlightened explorer, and still enjoy a fun and even luxurious travel experience.”
As head of the Green Mill Village marketing team, McElwee is active in tourism organizations like the National Tour Association, The International Ecotourism Society, The Adventure Travel Trade Association and others, as he speaks about sustainable practices in travel and business. In his role as publisher of the new responsible tourism magazine, he will have the platform to reach a large audience with the GMV message. His latest business book, Inside the Green Box, will be published in the spring of 2008. He also has a monthly PBS talk show, covering issues related to sustainable travel. McElwee will begin a national speaking tour in 2008 that will focus on sustainable travel and responsible lodging.
