City officials recently received assurances from state officials during a trip to Springfield that the money will be there, says Chamber of Commerce president Leo Nelson. The city already has received inquiries from developers, who would likely build a mix of single-family and multifamily housing that would blend in with the surrounding low-density residential neighborhood, he told a luncheon Tuesday at First United Methodist Church in the city's Downtown.

"All of a sudden the private sector has stepped up to the plate," Nelson says.

On a smaller scale, Elgin is going through much the same cycle Downtown as Chicago is in its Central Business District. "There's a certain amount of our population who likes to live in cities," Nelson says.

It doesn't hurt, director of community development Ray Moeller adds, that a train ride Downtown from a nearby Metra station is less than an hour.

"People with investment dollars realize what a gold mine this is, and it's contagious," Moeller says.

East Dundee, IL-based PAR Development could be accused of starting the fever, as they won a controversial $4.2-million incentive package to build a $28-million multifamily project north and east of the Grand Victoria casino, the state's most profitable riverboat gambling venue. The developers are doing a marketing study for their 176-unit project as well as environmental studies.

Across the street, though, the casino is considering a city request to build its permanent entertainment facility with a second stage that would face out to Festival Park, which the city is developing, Moeller says. The park is part of a riverwalk on the east side of the river, stretching from the casino to salvage yard site.