News

Fox River achievements, works in progress

RiverEdge Park, which opened in June to host the annual Blues on the Fox Festival, is the highlight of Aurora's recent redevelopment efforts along the Fox River through its downtown. Scott Sanders/ssanders@dailyherald.com

The Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival is one of the few large events hosted along the Fox River in Geneva, where officials have identified opportunity sites for redevelopment, but the river flows about a third of a mile from the heart of the downtown. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com

The Fox River flows right past St. Charles city hall, hosts events such as Pride of the Foxs annual Riverfest, and bisects the community, but some involved with the River Corridor Foundation are frustrated with the lack of progress made on a river-centered master plan approved more than a decade ago. Daily Herald file photo

Riverfront Park and Cornish Park are highlights of Algonquins efforts to better utilize the Fox River, which the village hopes to continue by collaborating with several other groups to seek funding for a study of how to enhance riverfront recreational opportunities. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

Posted September 05, 2013 8:00 am

As towns along the Fox River have heightened their efforts to revitalize their shorelines and nearby downtowns, here are the main completed projects and some still in the planning stage.

Aurora

Completed: The Music Garden at RiverEdge Park, an amphitheater-style music venue

Upcoming: A new main branch of the Aurora Public Library

North Aurora

Completed: Water Wonders interactive stream

Envisioned: Sculpture garden in Riverfront Park

Batavia

Completed: The Batavia Riverwalk with a wildlife sanctuary, warming house and band shell

Envisioned: Streetscape improvements on First, Houston and Water streets and Shumway Avenue

Geneva

Completed: Geneva on the Dam commercial complex

Envisioned: Redevelopment of the former Mill Race Inn and Geneva Bottling Works

St. Charles

Completed: Bob Leonard Memorial River Walk and a canoe launch

Envisioned: Gardens, boat docks, pedestrian bridges and more outlined in a decade-old master plan for the river

Elgin

Completed: The Centre of Elgin recreation facility and the Gail Borden Public Library

Coming soon: Riverside Drive reconstruction

Carpentersville

Completed: Main Street Bridge renovation

Envisioned: Drainage improvements and demolition of abandoned huts

Algonquin

Completed: Cornish Park and Riverfront Park improvements

Envisioned: Study river recreational opportunities

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