Long Awaited Riverpoint Development Underway in St. Charles
Date Posted: February 21, 2023
Posted In: Projects,
From KMOV: A $350 million development project in the heart of St. Charles is underway as the first major tenant of the Riverpointe development begins construction.
Kansas City-based Chicken N Pickle, an expansive pickleball and restaurant entertainment complex, is currently under construction just east of Streets of St. Charles. The piece of land nestled between Streets of St. Charles and Bangert Island is slated to become home to restaurants, office buildings, a hotel, Chicken N Pickle, and townhomes, along with a 7-acre lake.
“It’s shooting out of the ground like a rocket, it’s going very well,” said Dan Borgmeyer, the St. Charles City mayor. “They’re {Chicken N Pickle} predicting 700,000 people a year. That’s a lot of people.”
Up until recently, construction was delayed as the city worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure the land was raised 40′ out of the floodplain. Borgmeyer says the original plan for a 20-acre lake was scaled down to seven acres, allowing for Bangert Island to remain untouched and creating a wildlife wetlands area.
Borgmeyer said there are no plans to develop Bangert Island and added that decades-old deed restrictions will not allow it. The city recently took back control of Bangert Island from St. Charles County, clearing a major hurdle to the permitting process for continued construction.
“We did that so we could develop the accretion area, and that allows us to build the 7-acre lake,” he said. “A lot of contracting with a lot of the developers is based on us being able to provide the waterfront.”
Chicken N Pickle was originally scheduled to open in May, but Borgmeyer said supply chain issues have pushed the opening date back to August or September. He anticipates additional permits will be granted in April, opening the door to continued work and construction within the area.
“Once we announced Chicken N Pickle, then we got the attention of the big hotel developers, restaurants, grocery stores, everything else.”
Bids are ongoing with several major hotel chains, and the city hopes to offer restaurant dining within the hotels, with an elevated view of the lake. Condominiums, townhouses and office space will round out the Riverpointe development.