St. Charles development projects drive candidate forum

Three locations in St. Charles that once embodied the successful industry, commerce and strength of the community have become taboo, if not infamous, parts of the city’s landscape; Charlestowne Mall, the former Police Department, and Pheasant Run Resort.

These locations, all either abandoned, demolished or severely underutilized, were front an center in a forum featuring candidates in each contested City Council race, including the races for mayor and four council seats. The March 6 candidate forum led by the Chamber of Commerce and hosted at the Realtors Association of the Fox Valley offices at 406 Surrey Woods Drive.

Chamber board director Charlie Murphy moderated the forum.

Both mayoral candidates, incumbent Mayor Lora Vitek and challenger Clint Hull, were present at the forum.

Of the aldermanic candidates, Ward 1 incumbent Ron Silkaitis was the only candidate without an opponent present at the forum, as challenger Robert Kasper was absent. He sent a surrogate to read a statement on his behalf.

In Ward 2, incumbent Ryan Bongard is challenged by Angela Churchill. In Ward 3, incumbent Paul Lencioni is challenged by Vicki Spellman and Carolyn Waibel, and in Ward 5, incumbent Steve Weber is challenged by Lauren Duddles.

The final prompt directed to the aldermanic candidates was to pick one of the city’s high profile projects and explain how they would make a difference in moving the project forward. Of the eight candidates for aldermen, only one answer was not about one of the big three sites.

Lencioni said the former Pheasant Run Resort is the site he hopes to make progress on in his next term, and touted the role he already played in bringing in a receivership to pressure owners into moving forward with demolition.

The Pheasant Run Resort site is located just north of Route 64 on the city’s east side. It has been vacant since 2020 and was recently demolished to be redeveloped as commercial space.

Waibel, Bongard, Churchill and Spellman all listed the Charlestowne Mall redevelopment as the project they hope to influence most. Newcomers Waibel and Churchill were confident in their ability to work with the owners to get the project moving, and Spellman suggested getting creative to find a use for the vacant mall spaces in the interim.

The Charlestowne Mall opened at 3700 East Main Street (Route 64) in 1991. It has been largely vacant since 2017, except for a movie theater and a Von Maur.

Silkaitis and Duddles both identified the former Police Department site as the project they intend to affect.

Silkaitis said while he doesn’t have an exact idea for what the site should look like, the location presents an opportunity to bring something unique to the area that will draw people to the downtown. He suggested a space where art, music and other entertainment could be enjoyed.

Kasper, through his surrogate, suggested using the former police department as a small business incubator.

Duddles also suggested using the site as an incubator space for small businesses, similar to the boardwalk shops in Batavia.

The former Police Department site at 10 State Ave. has been vacant since 2019. Its location on the east riverbank downtown makes it a prime location for developers looking to build expansive projects, but pushback from residents who want to preserve the cityscape and natural beauty of the site have delayed redevelopment plans.

The mayoral candidates both touched on the Charlestowne Mall site during their session of the forum. While they had similar views on whether the city should purchase the site, they disagreed about the site’s financial impact on the city.

Mayor Vitek dismissed claims made by other candidates about Charlestowne Mall being a burden to taxpayers. She said while the site is not actively generating tax dollars, it is not costing the city anything, either.

Hull agreed that purchasing the mall was not the right move for the city, but pushed back on Vitek’s claims about its cost to the city. He said while letting the mall site sit may not costing anything, the city is missing out on the ability to generate tax from the site.

Vitek said her experience on the council over the past eight years gives her the advantage of knowing all the facts about the mall site and why previous plans have fallen through. She said this puts her in a position to ensure progress is made on the site during her next term.

Hull identified the police department site as the one project he wants to have an impact on. While he didn’t say what the site should become, he said once the city completes its feasibility study, the location will be “primed and ready to go.”

The candidates will face off in the consolidated election on April 1. Early voting began March 7.