St. Charles to seek grant money to help complete First Street Plaza expansion

The city of St. Charles plans to apply for $100,000 in Kane County Riverboat Grant funds to help complete the construction of the First Street pedestrian corridor and plaza.

That is the maximum request allowable under the grant. The city will apply for funds toward the costs associated with the conversion of South First Street to a pedestrian-only corridor, including the expansion of the east plaza along the Fox River. The rest of the project - which got underway in September - is estimated to cost $2.6 million.

"Any grant funding received will reduce the local share of the construction project," Ken Jay, manager of the St. Charles Public Works Engineering Division, told aldermen in a memo.

In 2020, aldermen unanimously voted to purchase the former Manor Restaurant site at the southeast corner of Main and First streets for $1 million to expand the First Street Plaza. That purchase included a $400,000 donation from the city and a $600,000 donation from Exelon.

The St. Charles Initiative, an independent advisory committee under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, is raising funds for the project. First Street Initiative Chairman John Hoscheit talked about the vision for the project in September during a groundbreaking ceremony.

"We're going to build a foundation, we're going to fill the hole," he said. "But our committee and I think the city has made it clear that filling the hole isn't going to be enough. We want to not only fill the hole and get the infrastructure built but we also want to get to the second phase, which is actually building the amenities here, repurposing First Street, putting plantings in and water features and making it a community gathering place that everyone can be proud of."