An ice skating path, a bandshell, and a covered market pavilion all appear in the first round of park designs for St. Charles’ vacant riverfront police station site.

City officials will weigh in on the three preliminary plans, which were prepared by the St. Charles Park District, during Monday’s (Oct. 12) special City Council meeting.

Here’s what to know:

The eastern part of the building would come down, the western part would stay, and the Park District would use about 3,000 square feet for public restrooms, equipment storage, and staff space during events.

That would leave about 5,500 square feet for the city to use later. Ideas from the public input process include a community room, visitor center, art gallery, or restaurant. City documents show that any community space would be paid for by the city.

Option A also includes a winding path that works as a walking loop in warmer months and becomes an ice skating ribbon during the winter.

In this scenario, the entire building would be demolished. There would be no skating ribbon. This version is the most park-focused layout, and documents say it would likely be the cheapest to build.

New public restrooms would go next to the existing well house, which remains in all versions of the plan. Most of the other amenities in Option B match what’s included in Options A and C.

In this version, nearly all of the building would be removed. Only a northern section would remain for Park District restrooms, storage, and visitor services.

Option C keeps the skating ribbon but drops the parking along the edge of the site to make room for more green space and dedicated park uses.

Each plan includes a small bandshell for concerts and events and a covered pavilion on the south end for farmers markets and food trucks that doubles as parking when it’s not being used.

They all feature a plaza with café seating, a relocated Freedom Shrine, and a play area that would utilize gentle grassy mounds for climbing and exploring.

The small retail shops idea (Described as similar to the Batavia Boardwalk Shops) from earlier this year didn’t make it into the plans. According to city documents, the Park District doesn’t think the site can fit the shops without sacrificing too much green space.

Instead, the drafts show room for temporary craft and art fair tents along the wider paths. Staff is asking council for direction on a path forward, such as saving the shops for a later phase or dropping the idea altogether.

No decisions are expected Monday. Staff is looking for direction on four key topics: whether to keep part of the building, how much parking the city is willing to lose, whether to include the skating ribbon, and which amenities council members want to keep.

Staff may send council members a follow-up survey to find areas of agreement, then take the feedback back to the Park District for revised plans.

View the agenda memo and site plans.

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