ST CHARLES, Mo. — For decades, St. Charles residents have crossed bridges to commute to jobs, attractions and even restaurants. But officials backing a major riverfront development in St. Charles say when they’re finished, jobs — and even more residents — will likely come to them.
Developer CRG has started construction on the first phases of Riverpointe, a $350 million development more than a decade in the making, which, over the next five years, looks to revitalize 120 acres along the Missouri River at Interstate 70 and Main Street, building on the success of the neighboring 27-acre mixed-use development that opened in 2012, The Streets of St. Charles.
With a 30-acre riverside lake, the new waterfront stretching between the Ameristar casino and the Family Arena would be lined with office space, retail, hotels and residential developments.
The casino is already one of the largest tourist attractions by numbers in the St. Louis area, and, with the new development, St. Charles officials hope to draw in even more outsiders, plus, in a best-case scenario, a corporate headquarters that could make some of those commutes outside the county unnecessary.
City officials said St. Charles is already the third most-visited city in the state with 11 million visitors annually, and Riverpointe could further elevate that popularity, said Scott Drachnik, president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of St. Charles County.
“It’s going to add new landmarks to the metropolitan region,” Drachnik said. “We’re going to think about the Arch, we’re going to think about the Cardinals, we’re going to think about the zoo and we’re going to think about things like Riverpointe. And that’s good for everybody in metro St. Louis.”
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
