O’Fallon sees Central Park Drive development as a regional destination
Another opportunity to make O’Fallon a regional destination is in the works — with plans for a Central Park Drive development of residential, retail, entertainment, lodging and dining now underway.
The 29-acre proposal from Commercial Real Estate Investors was approved at the March 21 O’Fallon City Council meeting, along with resolutions for a TIF redevelopment agreement and the preliminary plat that subdivides the property into four lots.
This will be a complex unique to the metro-east, comparable to the Streets of St. Charles in Missouri, but smaller. The first phase will be 384 market-rate apartments.
Located at 1245 Central Park Drive, the property is situated one half-mile northwest of its intersection with Green Mount Road, and currently an undeveloped agricultural site.
The site is northwest of Gateway Classic Cars and across from Northern Tool, Club Fitness, La-Z-Boy Furniture and Kloss Furniture.
The TIF Redevelopment Agreement allows for 50% of the property tax increment generated by the property to be returned to the property owner, as the project is located within the Central Park TIF.
The project is estimated to have maximum total eligible costs of $11,435,000. However, the total amount of these costs to be recovered by Central Park Lodging is ultimately dependent upon final taxable value of the building is when the project is complete.
Staff recommendations for the proposed rezoning and planned use for the Central Park Mixed Use Development included an alternate parking plan, which was agreed upon and passed through the Planning Commission and Community Development Committee.
Lot 1 will feature four three-story apartment buildings with 26 units each and Lot 2 will be commercial, with the potential for restaurant space, possibly with one drive-thru and others with alcohol sales, plus retail, or an entertainment destination.
Lot 2, right now, is conceptual and specific details regarding tenants and building design have not been determined, according to the Community Development Department.
Lot 3 will contain a four-story, 94-room hotel. Developer Darrell Shelton said they would work with Hilton Hotels and identified Home2 Suites as a potential fit for the site. Shelton recently built the Fairfield Inn in O’Fallon, bringing the number of hotels to 14 in the city.
Lot 4 would include a four-story apartment building with 240 units.
The larger parcel of 28.12 acres is zoned community business district while the smaller parcel of 1.32 acres is zoned planned single-family residence, and was part of the Stone Bridge Estates development, but was deeded to Commercial Property Investors in 2013 because a tributary of Richland Creek separated it from the development.
The property was never rezoned or redesignated on the zoning-use map.
Downtown District Coordinator
Sarah Burton will become the new part-time Downtown District Coordinator now that a joint agreement between the city and the O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce has been approved. Both will fund the position, with the chamber obligated for $6,000 by May 1 each year.
Burton has been overseeing the Vine Street Market for the city since 2019, in addition to her duties as the staff horticulturist, but those tasks will be re-adjusted and re-assigned among other city employees in the parks and recreation department.
The city and chamber presented the need to create such a position because of the growth of the Downtown District and the Vine Street Market, a seasonal farmers market with handmade and homegrown items from within a 100-mile radius held at the O’Fallon Station.
She will now take on event planning — coordinating 12 events annually — and be the centralized person to contact. Her duties will include supervision, marketing and advertising, outreach, fiscal management, and logistics with city support services.
Dispatch Services with Shiloh
In other action, the city renewed its coordinated communications services contract with Shiloh for dispatch services for $155,000. The Metro East Communications Center takes care of police, fire, and EMS service calls.
The fee has increased because of the rising cost to provide telecommunications services. All other terms remain the same.
Four payments are due beginning May 1, 2022, and ending Feb. 1, 2023, for $38,750 each. The agreement expires April 30, 2023.
Mayor’s Report
In his mayor’s report, Herb Roach recognized the O’Fallon Township High School JV South Hockey Club for sweeping the Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association playoffs with 7 wins, 0 losses, 1 tie and 2 shootouts. He issued a proclamation and declared March 21 the team’s day.
He also asked for prayers and positive thoughts for former alderman Ray Holden, who has been a patient at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis for six weeks, and is in the ICU.