Corporate Reserve begins to take shape in St. Charles
Even though he terms this rocky economy as "uncharted waters," Paul Robertson is optimistic about how St. Charles residents involved in the corporate world will take to his company's planned office complex on the city's west side.
Ground was broken two weeks ago for the Corporate Reserve of St. Charles, a 50-acre office park on Route 64 just west of Randall Road that will offer first-class corporate offices in a setting that will feature open space, the nearby LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve and connections to bike trails.
"There is an opportunity that is still here in St. Charles," said Robertson, the executive vice president of development for JCF Real Estate, Inc. "It has nothing to do with the economy, but more to do with the window in the market here for Class A offices."
Robertson said the project is targeting "corporate men and women from this area who are now driving a long way to get to their offices, when they could have an option right here."
Law firms, accounting firms and some medical groups are most common tenants in a complex like the Corporate Reserve, Robertson said. "We are really happy with the traffic and interest we have had here, despite the chaos in the market."
Area residents will first notice two 15,000-square-foot buildings going up on the site, while a larger 45,000-square-foot building is part of phase one of the project, but Robertson said the site will grow as the market allows it.
"Will it take longer to complete in this economy? Yes, but it is generating a lot of interest right now," Robertson said.
In determining a location, Robertson said, JCF Real Estate felt that with all of the recent commercial growth along Randall Road, that the west side of St. Charles was the place to be for this type of project.
"The east side has some real nice office settings, but it has a business park feel to it," Robertson said. "The growth corridor has been on the west side and this is going to have a more natural feel to it, with tree-lined boulevards and just more parklike."
Robertson and his co-workers are confident they are bringing a "long-awaited" product to central Kane County. Now, they just need a little more cooperation from these uncharted waters they're riding.
Work in the woods: You'd think the dead of winter would mean that things are pretty much dead around forest preserves during the winter. But a walk through any of our county's trails tells a different story - at least for the forest preserve employees who take advantage of the winter months to clear out brush and chop down dead or dying trees.
Valerie Blaine, the district's nature program coordinator, tells me that the district is always looking to keep plants and trees healthy. And that usually means taking out aggressive, nonnative plants, such as European buckthorn and bush honeysuckle, which rob others of daylight.
And, as for the trees in our preserves, unfortunately many American elms are falling to Dutch elm disease and we all know what's going on with the ash trees the past few years.
Blaine said that anyone who likes to work with nature or has a streak of Paul Bunyan in them, the district is always looking for volunteers to help with habitat restoration. Anyone interested can contact volunteer coordinator Julia Bourque at bourquejulia@kaneforest.com.
About Lincoln's era: The "One Book, One Batavia" program at the Batavia library makes for a dream season for Civil War buffs.
The program got off to a great start last weekend with the announcement of the Civil War novel "The Killer Angels" being chosen as the "one book" and an outstanding presentation at the library about Civil War surgeons.
With a theme that ties in with Lincoln's 200th birthday, more free programs related to the Civil War era are on tap for the library in the coming weeks. They'll present in-depth looks at the Underground Railroad; re-enactors and their gear; the music of the era; the ideas and conflicts of the decades leading up to the Civil War; and a review of "The Killer Angels."
You can register for the programs online at BataviaPublicLibrary.org.
A revealing thaw: Ah, yes, getting rid of the snow before more comes. Before this week's snow hit, we actually saw what was under those big piles we had for two months - fast-food wrappers, papers, cardboard, plastic bags, animal droppings and other trash.
But on occasion a thorough thawing can bring something of value back. A friend, whose husband bought her earrings for Christmas, lost one of the earrings in the snow just after the holidays.
And she found that earring last week. So when the next round of snow is gone, keep an eye open for those valuable things.
More Wisdom accolades: As a follow-up to last Sunday's item about Amy Wisdom of the Geneva Post Office donating her bone marrow to save an anonymous leukemia victim, it was nice to see her honored last week by Postmaster Sherman Carter in a ceremony at the post office.
She received several gifts and a congratulatory letter from Postmaster General John E. Potter, as well as an autographed photo of Olympic track star Antoinette Carter, who is postmaster Carter's daughter.
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