St. Charles candidates weigh in on second try for First Street

Officials dubbed St. Charles' First Street redevelopment project the "crown jewel" of the downtown when aldermen approved the five-phase plan in 2006. But progress halted three years later.

Now, aldermen will soon weigh in on a slightly modified version of the third phase that involves ALE Solutions becoming the anchor tenant of the new building. The company has outgrown space it occupies in the office complex that hosts Kimmer's Ice Cream.

The plan is being pitched by First Street Development II LLC, the same development team that saw its plans stall while operating as First Street Development LLC. The city council fired the team last year. Aldermen seeking re-election April 7 speak highly of the new plan, but some of their challengers aren't as confident.

Ward 3

This is Todd Bancroft's first time on the ballot after his appointment to his seat. He was a strong supporter of terminating the deal city officials made with the old development team. He said it's a "convergence of very fortuitous circumstances" that's brought that team back to the table with a plan he now believes in. But the leash will be short.

"We need to keep the focus on pushing this entire development forward," Bancroft said. "We are really now past the point where everyone could just point to the Great Recession. Guess what? That was seven years ago."

Challenger Naomi Bosko is happy the proposed plan will keep ALE Solution's 200 employees in the downtown to support area businesses. But she is also a big supporter of making the Fox River a major draw for the city, especially when it comes to what she sees as an untapped youth and young adult market.

"We really haven't started the whole riverfront project, and (First Street) is prime real estate," Bosko said. "What if we put a building there and we regret it because we have such a great idea for that land with the river project?"

Bancroft said the visions for the river just don't match up with the deadlines to repay more than $30 million the city borrowed to create a tax increment finance district for the site. City officials are trying to refinance that debt because there isn't enough time left under the current deadlines to accumulate enough new tax revenue - tax revenue above that which goes to local governments - to repay the loan.

"There is a bill to be paid, and you need to generate property tax revenue to pay that bill," Bancroft said. "This is an important first step in getting that bill paid."

Ward 4

Incumbent Jim Martin is retiring from the city council. That leaves his former challenger Steve Gaugel and newcomer Matt Dowling battling to replace him.

Gaugel said the new version of the old development team's plan "will unquestionably work."

Securing ALE Solutions as the anchor tenant and owner of the new building eliminates most of the risk involved, Gaugel said.

"They are going to be the cornerstone," he said. "It's going to maintain a fantastic business that's right in our downtown. They are going to patronize local restaurants and other establishments. If we hit the reset button now and go back, it will be years before anything would happen or a potential developer came forward. We need to move on it now. I can't wait to see this break ground."

Dowling said reuniting with the old development team seems to be the best option on the table only because the city can't seem to find another development team for the project. He hopes the plan works, but he doesn't see it as the sure thing Gaugel does.

"I can't say for certain, and I don't think anybody can, that this is the best option," Dowling said. "That's not to say the city is settling for this. They wanted certain things from the development company, and they are getting most of it. I'd hate to see them get this wrong. I don't think they are, but they needed to move on this sooner when the project first stalled. It could have been done by now."

Wards 1, 2, 5

The remaining three wards have uncontested races. No one filed to run against incumbents Dan Stellato (Ward 1) and Ed Bessner (Ward 5). Former mayoral candidate Jake Wyatt initially filed to run against incumbent Rita Payleitner in Ward 2, but Wyatt has since withdrawn his name from the ballot because of new work commitments.