St. Charles City Council members approve downtown apartment development

St. Charles City Council members approved an amendment application for a special-use permit to convert a commercial building near the city's downtown into multi-family residential units at their Oct. 16 meeting.

The amendment allows part of the Heritage Square II development at 405 Illinois Ave. to be converted to up to eight one-bedroom apartment units.

The motion was approved in a 9-0 vote without discussion. Alderperson Jayme Muenz recused herself from the vote.

As part of the original development, approved in 2003, the property is on a .93-acre site near the eastern edge of downtown. It consists of two office buildings on the south side of Illinois Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Avenues.

The special-use application was filed on Aug. 1 by Bob Rassmussen, representing Heritage Square LLC.

The application received recommendations for approval from the plan commission on Sept. 19 and the planning and development committee on Oct. 9 before being approved by the city council.