Plans for what would be the southwest suburbs’ first indoor go-kart track featuring electric go-karts are racing ahead.
Mokena officials last month approved a special use permit for Accelerate Indoor Speedway, a proposed 75,000-square-foot facility that also would have a restaurant, arcade and private party rooms.
Two brothers who are principals of the company that would operate Accelerate are Southland natives, and they have seven similar tracks in other parts of the country that feature electric carts.
The project still requires review and approval of site plans and architectural drawings, with the possibility of construction starting sometime this summer. David Larson, Accelerate’s managing partner, said the company hopes to be open by late this year or early next year.
The company intends to build the indoor track at 8610 Spring Lake Drive, just south of Interstate 80 and east of 88th Avenue, near Rasmussen College.
While the company previously has retrofitted existing buildings for tracks, such as vacant space in malls, this would be the first facility built from the ground up, Larson said. The investment, including land acquisition and construction, is expected to be $7.5 million, he said.
The Italian-made, zero-emission carts can reach speeds approaching 50 mph and accelerate faster than their gas-powered counterparts, according to the company. Larson noted many carting “purists” still favor a gas engine, but noted the popularity of electric-powered vehicles, whether for entertainment or commuting to work, is growing, citing the enormous advance interest in the Tesla Model 3.
He and his brother, Mike, are South Holland natives who previously owned and operated hotels in Florida before getting into go-karting. Their other tracks operate under the name Autobahn Indoor Speedway, but the company opted to use Accelerate for its first location in the Chicago market because of the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, which has outdoor go-karting but also is well known for drivers putting high-performance cars through their paces on the club’s tracks.
Autobahn Indoor Speedway has locations in a variety of cities, including Baltimore, Birmingham, Ala.; Jacksonville, Fla. and Memphis, Tenn. Other tracks set to open this year are in Hadley, Mass.; Manassas, Va., outside of Washington, D.C., and Tucson, Ariz.
Indoor carting with electric go-karts isn’t new to the Chicago area. K1 Speed Inc., which has 35 tracks in U.S. and Mexico, operates tracks in Addison and Buffalo Grove.
Larson said he and his partners in the company “knew we wanted to be along the I-80 corridor,” and considered several sites before selecting Mokena. The proximity to the interstate’s interchanges with Interstates 57 and 355 also will be a plus, he said, adding he expects Accelerate will draw customers from within a 30-mile radius of Mokena.
The village is enthusiastic about Accelerate’s plans, said Alan Zordan, the village’s director of economic and community development.
“It’s a unique use that we are in full support of,” he said. “It’s something that’s not available, from an entertainment perspective, in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.”
