The Rockefeller Group announced – just before the city council was to vote on the proposed DeKalb Business Center – it was backing out of funding and development for a 343-acre business park.

At the Dec. 12 city council meeting, DeKalb City Manager Mark Biernacki read a statement from the developer explaining why the Rockefeller Group pulled out.

The corporation famous for the Rockefeller Center in New York City realized costs were too high and the development was priced out of the market, Biernacki said.

Keating Resources’ original proposition showed the future layout, with 100 percent of space dedicated to warehousing. This plan depicted the highest number of trucks possible for the site – about 2,500 vehicles per day.

The plan could have been shown with less warehousing, but it was ethical to show what was possible, said Gerard Keating, president of Keating Resources.

Further, specific numbers on how many employees would have worked there were never nailed down, but obviously, it would have been substantial.

A group of citizens opposing the project, including Tom and Ingrid Inboden, Pat Bragg and Lynn Fazekas, voiced concerns at several city meetings and DeKalb’s council members addressed each one.

“This is a monumental event, and a time for DeKalb to set standards in the way it receives new growth,” said Ingrid Inboden.

Other residents voiced concerns over potential flooding in the area. Long-standing drain problems with the terrain were cited, as well as the neighboring Kishwaukee River.