Competing design teams share vision for St. Charles' Fox River

Making the Fox River the focal point of St. Charles' downtown is the basis for competing visions presented this week by multiple design teams known for their work with waterfront development projects.

The Active River Task Force is the main audience for the design team presentations. The group formed out of mutual interest of using the river as a tourist destination.

"We know, first and foremost, that St. Charles is here because of the river," said task force Chairman John Rabchuk. "We lost our way, and the river became not something to talk about. Now we're looking for ways to really leverage it for the entire community."

There's already been some buy-in for that vision by local taxing bodies. City and park district officials chipped in about $20,000 each to help fund consultants to evaluate the costs and potential profits of various ideas that could make the river the cornerstone of the downtown. And, two aldermen, Rita Payleitner and Maureen Lewis, sat in on the first round of design team presentations Tuesday.

Those presentations mentioned possible uses of the river ranging from fishing, wind surfing and sailing to white water rafting, stand-up paddling and competitive rowing. Photos of art displays placed directly on the water in other locales were shown to indicate the potential for non-sporting uses of the river. Other suggestions along those lines included a riverside performance theater, light displays and various forms of community gathering spaces.

"The opportunities are enormous," said Kurt Culbertson, CEO of Chicago-based Design Workshop, one of the presenting firms.

Scott Shipley, a three-time Olympian who now helps build white water courses said there are millions of dollars in potential income from adding a white water element. Shipley is working with another design firm, Naperville-based Hitchcock Design Group. He citied a modest course built in Golden, Colorado that reaps up to $2 million a year for the city. Meanwhile, a much larger white water course in Charlotte, North Carolina pulls in up to $40 million a year.

Both design teams agreed community involvement will be key to actually getting anything built. Various workshops and polling will be part of any process, as will obtaining grants to help fund the projects. Both teams said making water quality, fish habitat and flood improvements can be major gateways to funding. But buy-in from local taxing bodies would also be a big factor.

Despite the initial funding from the city, it's unclear how amenable aldermen will be to any of the design ideas. A pending plan to construct three new buildings and a parking deck right on the riverfront downtown may preempt some of the visions for the river. City council members will get a look at that plan in February. Meanwhile, two final design teams will present visions to the Active River Task Force Thursday.