Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 5-18-22

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10 I NEWS I May 18, 2022 MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE @MIDRIVERSNEWS MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE.COM Riverpointe continues to move forward with new lead developer By JOHN TREMMEL The Riverpointe, Bangert Island and Katy Trail areas just south of Interstate 70 in the city of Saint Charles, along the western bank of the Missouri River, have visibly and significantly changed during the past six months – and changes will continue over the next 12 to 18 months. Another aspect of Riverpointe that has changed significantly is that CRG has taken over the lead for development of Phase I and Phase III. A nationwide large developer headquartered in St. Louis, with a total of seven offices across North America, CRG is Clayco’s development company. The overall Riverpointe development starts at the south lot line of the Drury Plaza Hotel at the Streets of St. Charles, where the two-story parking structure ends and continues south to the Family Arena. As originally envisioned, it is to be a mixed-use development that, according to the city, “will entail building parking, retail, restaurants, office space, entertainment and multifamily dwellings.” It predicts that once development is completed it will “provide roughly 4,000 jobs, increase the annual visitors by a million people, and produce an annual revenue of an estimated $1.5 billion.” But progress on the development has been slow. While it wasn’t until 2018 that Saint Charles first sought funding for the Riverpointe project, the city had begun its efforts to reinvigorate the 1.6 miles of riverfront located south of I-70 to the Family Arena in 2008. In that early effort, the city partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do “extensive river modeling and hydraulic design to ensure that the project will improve both the economic activity of the region and the environmental resources along the Missouri River.” Originally, the river restoration plan called for creating a water-quality basin at the outflow of Crystal Springs Creek and elevating over 100 acres above the 500- year floodplain. Additionally, the Corps of Engineers had planned to remove decades of sediment deposits from a side chute of the Missouri River that had essentially tied the 160-acre Bangert Island, currently a St. Charles County park, to the St. Charles riverfront. As a result, Bangert Island would become an island once more. Those measures were expected to prevent the catastrophic flooding experienced by the area in recent years. However, that plan changed over time to one that would raise the entire Riverpointe project above the floodplain, enhancing the area’s existing habitat and foregoing the creation of the water-quality basin. Pilings are being poured for future development at Riverpointe Early on the city also sought to reconstruct what it referred to as an “existing inadequate roadway infrastructure located along Arena Parkway which runs the perimeter of the project, [and] create stormwater control and protection from the Missouri River.” To do so, the city proposed the creation of: • 4 miles of new roadway, including an extension of Lombard Street from South Main Street, which borders the Streets of St. Charles, to a roundabout to be built along the edge of the water quality basin, and the construction of a new loop road connecting Old South River Road to the Lombard Street roundabout. • 5.8 miles of reconstructed roadway, including improvements to the existing Old South River Road. • 14 miles of new ADA accessible sidewalks. • 1.6 miles of new or improved trails, including raising the Katy Trail to an elevation above the 500-year floodplain. • 1.6 miles of new transit facilities, including a trolley connection from the development to the St. Charles Area Transit [SCAT] hub, located at Clark Street and Riverside Drive in historic St. Charles. • 100 acres of high-value development area elevated above the floodplain, creating 6.7 million square feet of usable space. Some of those improvements have happened and some continue to be under construction and the water basin, which was taken off the drawing board by the city in 2020, is back on. CRG Director of Development Natasha Das, who handles the day-to-day requirements of CRG’s real estate developments from site selection to stabilization, explained that the company is “working on the initial phase of infrastructure during this time, including filling, grading and (John Tremmel photo) paving the Lombard Street and Old South River Road extensions, and extending utilities.” “We anticipate that Chicken N Pickle will be open by fourth quarter ‘22 or early 2023,” she added. Chicken N Pickle is the first brick and mortar to be confirmed for Riverpointe. The Kansas City-based company currently has six locations in Missouri, Kansas and Texas and anticipates opening three more venues in late 2022, including the Riverpointe facility. According to its website, “Chicken N Pickle Saint Charles will be equipped with bars, pavilions, multiple dining areas on the main floor and a rooftop dining experience, along with outdoor tables for guests to enjoy. The venue will feature numerous indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, shuffleboard and Bocce ball courts, and a variety of lawn games.” Asked what else might be completed by the first and second quarter of 2023, Das responded that CRG is currently in discussions with various other potential users; however, at this time they are focusing Rendering of the projected development of Riverpointe on the project’s extensive infrastructure updates. While mostly seen as positive, those updates have caused concern for users of the Katy Trail, which runs through the development area along the Missouri River. Relocation of the trail and changes to the habitat which surround it have been a hot button for many residents and environmental groups. Currently, the trail has detours around sections near the Blanchette (I-70) Bridge to the south and past Bangert Island to near Friedens Road. “The Katy Trail is still open,” Das said, “but we anticipate being complete with the Katy Trail relocations approximately 24 months after receipt of the remaining approvals.” Regarding the lake feature, Das explained that it provides essential benefits to the area, such as: • Improving water quality by removing pollutants that would eventually reach the Missouri River. • Providing flood relief along Crystal Springs Creek. • Achieving environmental restoration that creates biodiversity and habitat lift. • Providing an aquatic recreational feature for Bangert Island Park. With the future development of Riverpointe transferred to CRG, the city of Saint Charles is in the process of updating its website in regard to the project and deferring all inquiries to the company. According to its website, CRG has developed $13 billion in assets, 10,000 acres of land, and 210 million square feet in projects during the 29 years since its founding. The company is privately held, with reported $755 million revenue in 2021. In addition to Riverpointe, CRG is developing or has developed Wildhorse Village in Chesterfield, Chapter at the Streets in the Streets of St. Charles, Everly on the Loop (Delmar) in St. Louis and Delmar DiVine in St. Louis. (Source: CRG)
FACEBOOK.COM/MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE.COM May 18, 2022 MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE I NEWS I 11 NEWS BRIEFS, from page 9 community for 13 consecutive years further demonstrates why St. Charles County is a great place to raise a family and to start, or grow, a business.” The 2022 County Health Rankings are based upon public data collected from vital statistics and government surveys from 2007-2020. The complete nationwide and Missouri-specific rankings may be viewed at countyhealthrankings.org. MISSOURI Applicants sought for state fellowship program The State Historical Society of Missouri is seeking proposals for two Center for Missouri Studies fellowships to begin to Jan. 1, 2023. Each fellowship carries a stipend of $5,000 for a project that results in the completion of a 6,000 to 8,000-word scholarly essay on one of the two topics listed below. The deadline for submitting proposals is Sept. 6. The competition is open to both academic and independent scholars. Topics for the 2023 Center for Missouri Studies Fellowships are: • Rural-urban conflicts in Missouri. Proposed projects should examine a conflict, or perhaps two or more related conflicts, that have divided the state’s rural and urban populations. Any time period in Missouri’s history may be considered. Proposals will be judged on their potential to increase understanding of how and why rural-urban divisions persist within Missouri. • Missouri and the arts. Proposals should consider the history of some aspect of aesthetic sensibility and explore how it has shaped Missouri’s cultural or artistic identity. This fellowship opportunity invites a broad range of potential topics: art/artists, music/musicians, literature/authors, architecture/architects, etc. Other possibilities might include Missouri’s association with foodways, industrial design, dress, fashion, pageants, theater, concerts, gardens or park design, or any other subject that illuminates how Missouri and Missourians have perceived, defined, and created beauty, style, and taste. The fellowship awards will be announced in December. The chosen projects will be considered for publication in the Missouri Historical Review, the only quarterly journal devoted to scholarship on Missouri’s history. Fellowship recipients will also have an opportunity to make a public presentation of their work. For further information regarding the fellowships and how to apply, visit shsmo. org/awards/center-fellowship. Contact us today to schedule a tour! 314-576-5545 • www.brookingpark.org 307 S Woods Mill Road Chesterfield, MO 63017 Hello ... Just a reminder to schedule your maintenance! I was JUST thinking about that! Sudoku brought to you by Faszold Heating & Cooling Complete the grid so that every row, column, and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively. To Schedule Maintenance, Call (636) 397-1237 or visit www.Faszold.com Special Financing Available. Call for Details. Ameren Missouri and Spire Rebates Available! *Subject to credit approval. See the Faszold Team for Details. Go to www.faszold.com/sudoku for Sudoku answers!
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Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 5-18-22

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