St. Charles Riverpointe

St. Charles project aims at reversing 200 years of overlooking the potential of riverfront development.
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CRG and Clayco have 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 visitors.

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.

In a similar strategy to Clayco and CRG’s Wildhorse Village project in Chesterfield, life at Riverpointe will revolve around the waterfront between the mainland and a 160-acre Missouri River barrier island, called Bangert Island. It’s a county park permanently shielded from development by covenants designed to preserve its natural state.

As sludge filled the slough between the island and the mainland, Bangert stopped resembling an island. But if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signs off, CRG will dig out the slough to create a narrow manmade lake, about 150 to 250 feet wide and a mile long, that can be used for kayaking, paddle boating and other water activities.

Today, the ground at the site of the first phase is largely natural and rustic, matching Bangert. Plans call for transforming it into office buildings, 500 apartments, 150 hotel units, 100,000 square feet of riverfront restaurants and retail, all likely incorporating rooftop patios and gardens to take advantage of the lake and river views. Another 75 to 200 owner-occupied townhouses or condos are to be built along the riverfront.

All the projects will surround a central plaza with a “Riverwalk” path constructed along the lakefront for public access, with an amphitheater hosting events and a pedestrian bridge leading to Bangert Island. The nearby expanse of the Katy Trail, the popular statewide bike path, will be rebuilt to capitalize on the water access.