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📸 Credit: St. Charles Committee of the Whole agenda
St. Charles officials got a clear message from the community about the future of the downtown riverfront property where the former police department once stood: keep it public, keep it open, and don't sell it to a developer.
Economic Development Director Derek Conley presented the Phase 1 engagement results to the Committee of the Whole on March 16, summarizing feedback from 738 online survey responses and a community open house.
The findings demonstrated a consistent theme across both channels.
Here's what to know:
The top choice: Programmed open space ranked first in every metric as 68% of survey respondents said they were interested in it. The option received 61 green dots (positive votes) at the open house (compared to just 10 red). Community members mentioned farmers markets, a bandshell, kayak launches, splash parks, and sculpture gardens as ideas.
“Hard no” on housing and hotels: Respondents rejected multifamily residential (83% not interested), townhomes (84% not interested), and hotel (78% not interested) across both the survey and in-person event. Many residents raised concern about competing with Hotel Baker and losing what they described as the last open riverfront space downtown.
Money issues: There are financial elements to keep in mind about the community's preferred direction. Officials noted that if the site becomes a public park, the city will carry the cost (demolition, construction, and ongoing maintenance).
Phase 2 is next: A second community engagement event is scheduled for April 8 from 4–6PM at City Hall. The format will be more hands-on than Phase 1 — participants will work with site maps and weigh in on specific amenities.
A second community survey is expected to be available soon.
The consultant summarized the overall results as: "The community is open to activation, but not privatization."
View the city agenda memo and presentation.
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