New developer eyeing redevelopment of largely vacant Charlestowne Mall
A new developer plans to redevelop the largely vacant Charlestowne Mall on St. Charles' east side after a previous plan was scrapped earlier this year.
UrbanStreet Group is under contract to purchase the mall, St. Charles 3rd Ward Alderperson and mayor pro tem Todd Bancroft said Wednesday. He and St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek presented the City Update at the St. Charles Area Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn in St. Charles.
"What they're doing right now as part of their due diligence is sort of revisioning what that mall would look like and what the concept would be," Bancroft said. "They haven't brought anything forward to the city council yet."
As Bancroft noted, UrbanStreet Group officials are aware of what the city council thought regarding previous plans for the site.
"They have some understanding of what we're looking to do, what we're looking to see on a project like that," he said.
A plan to redevelop the mall was shelved earlier when several St. Charles alderpersons and plan commissioners questioned whether the proposal was the best plan for the site.
That plan was to raze the majority of the mall to make way for 560 apartments and townhouses, a hotel and new restaurants and retail along East Main Street. During a City Council Planning and Development Committee meeting in January, several alderpersons raised concerns about the number of units being proposed along with the layout of the plan.
"It's a good plan, but the question is, is this the best use of space?" 2nd Ward Alderperson Ryan Bongard said at the meeting. "In speaking with constituents, they don't want to see 500 apartments."
The partnership of S.R. Jacobson Development Corp. and Lormax Stern Development Co. previously had entered into a purchase agreement for the property with current owners The Krausz Companies. In December 2017, Krausz closed the interior shops and enclosed mall space at the center.
Vitek had said the city would like to balance the residential portion of any plan with "more of an entertainment opportunity over there."
"That's the overwhelming comment that I have heard through the city council," Vitek said after the plans were scrapped. "And I do believe that we can try to accomplish that. We shouldn't settle. We've got a lot going for us. We know there needs to be more people here and we're going to bring residential, but there needs to be a balance over there, too. The east side is very important to our town, but we do want to see the right fit."