St. Charles committee to review updated plan for riverside apartments
The St. Charles City Council's Planning and Development Committee on Monday is set to review plans for a proposed apartment building near the Fox River that has been scaled back after neighbors voiced concerns about the building's height.
Newly revised plans for the River East Lofts project call for reducing the building from five stories to four stories. The project is proposed to be built at the southeast corner of Illinois and Riverside avenues, on the site of the former St. Charles Chamber of Commerce building.
Previous plans had called for the building to be 59 feet, 8 inches tall. The zoning district for the area allows for a maximum building height of 50 feet.
The current plans show the building would be a maximum of 50 feet tall, so the developer is no longer requesting a zoning variance from the city. The apartments would be located on the building's upper floors while commercial and retail space would be on the first floor.
In addition, the number of units has been reduced from 43 to 42, and the unit mix has changed from 27 one-bedroom and 16 two-bedroom units to 12 one-bedroom and 30 two-bedroom units. Revised architectural plans have been submitted.
Other changes include reorientation of the building to follow Riverside Avenue, removal of an ATM and increasing the number of parking spaces from 53 to 60 - that would put 36 spaces in a private parking lot and 24 spaces along 2nd Avenue.
Plan commissioners last month unanimously recommended approval of the revised plans, with one commissioner abstaining because of a conflict. Developer Curt Hurst and his son, Conrad, own Frontier Development, which has been involved in several projects in downtown St. Charles.
Commissioners said they liked the changes that have been made and suggested ways to further improve the project, including enhancing the sidewalk connection from Indiana Avenue through the site, using brick piers for more substantial balconies on the south elevation to create a covered walkway, and extending the public sidewalk down the east side of Riverside Avenue.