Five things you need to know about St. Charles' First Street redevelopment

In downtown St. Charles, it's best to keep your eyes peeled these days or you just might miss it.

A parking deck going up here. A new grocery and bank over there. Six blocks of sparkling storefronts and condos.

"It still blows my mind," Mayor Don DeWitte said during a June 5 tour of the First Street redevelopment project. "Fourteen, 15, 16 months ago, none of this was here."

Welcome to the new downtown St. Charles, a $105 million work-in-progress.

Over the past two years, contractors have torn up and rebuilt streets, sewers and sidewalks. They've constructed five stories of parking and offices, and built a new bank and supermarket.

The list goes on.

But city officials say there's much more to come between now and 2012, when a revitalized First Street is expected to be fully open for business.

Here are five things you need to know about where the project stands today:

Parking deck opens: Tuesday's a big day for First Street.

That's when officials anticipate opening the city's first west-side parking deck, a cornerstone of the redevelopment, at First and Walnut streets.

The structure includes 430 public parking spaces and 55,000 square feet of office and retail space on portions of the first three floors. It also has two elevators for public use at the north and south ends of the building, an electronic system that monitors parking spaces and points drivers to open ones and a "radiant heat" feature expected to keep its helix ramp clear of snow and ice.

One of the largest features of the First Street project, the mixed-use building was constructed over much of the spring. Beginning Tuesday, drivers will have full access to all five levels of free parking 24 hours a day. An official ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for July 16. There are three points of entry to the parking deck, two of which are along First and Walnut streets. There's also a right-in/right-out entry point at the south end of the building.

Christopher Tiedt, the city's lead engineer for the First Street project, said the public's response to the parking deck has been favorable so far. "The parking deck is very easy to use," he said. "In general, I think the overall outlook from everybody I've talked to is positive."

Officials added that real estate agents already have leased some space to unnamed businesses, including a salon and restaurant at the deck's northwest corner.

More demolition: Say goodbye to the Manor Restaurant.

The highly visible but shuttered eatery at 1 W. Main St. is slated to be demolished this summer as First Street contractors move east from the parking deck.

The demolition will be followed shortly by ground-breakings for the project's three largest buildings, along the west bank of the Fox River, south of Main Street.

The Manor Restaurant will be replaced with a retail space building and, behind it to the south, there will be the River Terrace and River Loft buildings, also to be used for offices and retail.

The trio of buildings between Main and Illinois streets are expected to open later this year. Also on the summer radar is construction of the Centre Point building along First Street between Indiana and Illinois streets.

Plazas arrive: Work also is about to begin on two public plazas slated to open this fall as well as a public walkway along the Fox River.

The plazas will be east and west of First Street, between existing and incoming buildings, with the walkway stretching from Main Street south to Illinois Street.

Interim Community Development Director Rita Tungare said the plazas and riverwalk are expected to serve as "common gathering places" where folks can enjoy a nice stroll or picnic. The west plaza also will have a stage area for concerts and other public events.

Tungare said the public areas will be welcoming, with attractive planters and landscaping. City officials also are encouraging existing businesses to spruce up their buildings.

The goal, Tungare said, is to create a downtown environment where people can "live, work and play."

She said the results so far are encouraging. "A feeling of accomplishment and completeness is starting to be there," Tungare said.

Roadwork wraps up: Remember those intermittent road closures that made traveling First Street a real pain? Well, city officials say the worst is mostly behind us.

Much of the work, particularly at Illinois and First streets, focused on replacing old utilities and infrastructure with a new system capable of sustaining a busier downtown. Several streets also have been resurfaced and re-striped, and new traffic signals and brick crosswalks were installed. Some roadwork remains to be done, Tiedt said, but "the real large disruptions are gone."

"I think you're going to see us returning to a semblance of normalcy," he added.

So far, so good: Huge endeavors might be inherently prone to setbacks, but so far the First Street project is moving ahead "on schedule, on budget," officials said.

The $105 million redevelopment effort is being funded through a mix of private and public financing under an arrangement that was in the works for four years before the project began. The city's share is about $25 million, with the balance covered by a private group headed by local developer Bob Rasmussen.

To date, there have been no major financial setbacks, officials said, despite having tackled some of the most noteworthy aspects of the project, including the construction of a new Blue Goose Super Market at Indiana and Second streets and a new Harris Bank just south of the grocery store. Both are already open for business.

Crews also were successful in demolishing the old Blue Goose at Illinois and First streets, as well as several other buildings, to make way for the project without unforeseen expenditures.

"The project isn't over, but we're off to a good start," Public Works Director Mark Koenen said.