Robert Burk and Robert Kuker are coming to the rescue in western Chicago suburb St. Charles.
After redevelopment plans for the mostly vacant Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles fell through earlier this year, Burke’s and Kuker’s UrbanStreet Group, based in suburban Schaumburg, is taking a stab at revitalizing the property, the Daily Herald reported. Now, city officials are considering a new plan by UrbanStreet Group.
The firm is in contract to buy the mall, which is more than 1 million square feet on the East Side of St. Charles at 3800 East Main Street. The seller, Krausz Companies, closed the interior shops and enclosed mall space at the center in 2017.
Previously, Krausz was in contract to sell it to a partnership of Lormax Stern Development Co. and S.R. Jacobson Development Corp. Plans were to demolish the property to make way for 560 apartments and townhouses, a hotel and new restaurants and retail. It failed to sway city officials to support the project.
Alderman Todd Bancroft said UrbanStreet is aware of the previous plans for the site as well as the reasons officials ultimately rejected it.
UrbanStreet is reworking the plan to reposition the property with a different mix of uses. It hasn’t yet brought a specific proposal to the suburb’s city council.
The previously considered plans involved tearing down most of the mall to make way for the new development. At a local government development committee meeting in January, multiple aldermen expressed their concerns about the number of residential units being included as well as the overall layout of the plan.
“It’s a good plan, but the question is, is this the best use of space?” Alderman Ryan Bongard said at the meeting. “In speaking with constituents, they don’t want to see 500 apartments.”
St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek said the city is committed to providing more housing, but needs to balance any residential development with entertainment opportunities.
“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,” Vitek said.
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