"Fountain Square is on its way," says the Shaw Co. president Denny Stine.

The development has been on its way even before the Shaw Co. acquired the slumbering 98-acre retail property from Cleveland-based Jacobs Group in August for $16 million. City officials, who also are involved in a massive redevelopment of the Downtown and lakefront area, endorsed the mixed-use project earlier this year. They are paying for infrastructure work, including a new street, walkways and bicycle paths.

While new retail space is expected to be created by the Shaw Co., the project along Belvidere Road west of US 41 also is expected to include hotel space, offices and a few entertainment venues. It also has been rumored as a possible site for Illinois' 10th casino license, which remains in limbo.

"This project will act as a catalyst for additional development that will foster new economic opportunities benefiting residents and making the city a more desirable place to visit, live and work," says Waukegan Mayor Richard H. Hyde.