What should be done with Charlestowne Mall?

What is it about St. Charles that makes it get caught in this trap: Decades of talking about “new” ideas for empty or near-empty mall buildings?

We're at it again regarding Charlestowne Mall. The new owners are now saying some previous visions for the site have become a little blurrier than anticipated. So the call is out again for taking new ideas into account.

St. Charles residents basically know how to translate that. It's a palpable way of saying, “We're stuck and going no place fast.”

We traveled this same route with the old St. Charles Mall on the city's west side 25 years ago. For a time, when it was just an empty building and not an empty lot as it is now, there was a call for ideas for the building.

Half-jokingly, I suggested it become a roller derby rink. Looking back, it may have been the best idea of the two I came up with.

But I'm bringing up idea No. 2 again, this time for the Charlestowne site. Yes, I am not calling it The Quad again until it actually has some Quad-ish features.

I suggest it become a “Man's Mall.” Keep the movie theater and add a hardware store, auto parts store, a sports bar, an indoor golf setup like the popular TopGolf businesses popping up, an outdoorsmen and fishing type store, an old-time barbershop, a sports memorabilia store, an electronics store, a place to buy all-terrain vehicles or boats, and maybe even a bowling alley.

And, dare I say it? An off-track betting parlor, or at least a bar with video gambling. We'd never talk again about what to do with this empty mall site.

Sure, they say women drive mall business and success, but what's that concept done for St. Charles malls the past 30-plus years?

The moving option

There is one other option for St. Charles and its ongoing problems in keeping a mall relevant and successful.

The city can pack it all up and move closer to I-88. That seems to have worked out fairly well for the Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora.

There are a few empty storefronts there, but not many. The number of stores open far out number the spaces seeking or awaiting tenants. Some of those storefronts have “coming soon” signs on them touting new retailers. Something tells me “coming soon” carries a little more weight at the outlet mall site than it does at The Quad. Oops, I mean Charlestowne Mall.

He has a chance

For those who may not pay attention to “The Voice” singing competition on NBC, you should know that St. Charles North graduate Jeffery Austin has a very real shot at winning.

All of the contestants can really deliver the goods, but there's something about this young lad's voice that makes it stand out.

It may sound biased coming from a writer in the Tri-Cities area, but I'll say this: It's hard to imagine Austin won't still be around in a few weeks when the show is winding down to the finale.

One-on-one is best

Geneva School Board President Mark Grosso had some excellent advice for the young students attending the school district's annual Community Leadership Breakfast last week.

Grosso warned that a leader in today's world could fall into the trap of using email, text and voice mail to handle important business or communicate with others.

“I want you to remember the old-fashioned one-on-one meetings with people, so you can look each other in the eye and see the body language,” Grosso said. “It is still the best way to communicate.”

He was right on target with that assessment, as many businesses even handle hirings, promotions, discipline or dismissals with electronic communication.

For the school cause

In what has become an annual tradition, the Geneva Academic Foundation handed over a check to the school district during the Community Leadership Breakfast, this time to the tune of $26,036. And the grants are now called the Mary Bencini Memorial Grants in honor of the late elementary school teacher and foundation leader.

It has also become a regular feature of this community event for those in attendance to be entertained by the Geneva High School String Ensemble.

This year was no different, as the students played various songs, including a couple that get you in the holiday spirit. It was excellent work by violinists Rachel Day, Breanna Magpantay and Allessandra West; Taylor Mickle on cello; and Lucas Luzinski on bass.

dheun@sbcglobal.net