DON’T ALLOW FRONTIER DEVELOPMENT TO TEAR DOWN THIS BUILDING!!

This historic building is St. Charles’ first City Hall. In 1892, Mayor Arthur A. Bennett purchased the property

from Bela Hunt on behalf of the community and commissioned the construction of the building. The Old City Hall served as the center of municipal activity until the adjacent Municipal Center Building was finished in 1940. After 1940, this building housed city offices, the 16th Judicial Circuit Court, the St. Charles Electric Department, and the St. Charles Fire Department. Before this building reached its 100th birthday in 1992, it faced an uncertain future. Although the Old City Building has a rich history, city officials during the late 1970’s began to mull over the possibility of razing the building rather than restoring it. Thanks to the foresight and efforts of Historical

Society members and concerned citizens, the Old City Building remains standing today at the heart of our downtown. In fact, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Incredibly, Frontier Development actually asked the city to consider bulldozing this proud symbol of our city’s history and heritage. In his presentation to the Planning and Development Committee on October 10, 2022, Curt Hurst, owner of Frontier Development, told the committee members that the Old City Hall building and its adjacent addition “changes how you view the plaza” (i.e., the 85,000 square foot concrete slab Frontier wants) and even though the city may not like the idea of tearing down that building, he “wants to be sure we are talking about it and having the conversation.” (You can find the entire Frontier presentation here: October 10 2022, Planning & Development Meeting - YouTube). This is one of the actual slides from the Frontier Development riverfront proposal that was given to the city, but not surprisingly was glossed over very quickly in Mr. Hurst’s presentation at the October 10 meeting:

In Frontier’s world, the Old City Hall building is GONE. What could justify razing this national landmark?? BECAUSE IT “CHANGES HOW YOU VIEW THE PLAZA.” It is simply appalling and unacceptable that a developer would even suggest that as part of this development. The people do not want our most treasured historic buildings destroyed and paved over as part of the overblown and obtrusive Frontier pipedream project. And it is one of MANY reasons why the Frontier Development riverfront proposal should be REJECTED and REMOVED FROM CONSIDERATION.

Public opposition to the Frontier Development concept continues to grow, and it will not stop until the proposal is taken off the table. Slowing down the process is not enough – we cannot let this concept proceed any further. MAYOR VITEK AND CITY COUNCIL – YOUR CITIZENS AND VOTERS DEMAND THAT YOU REJECT THE FRONTIER DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL NOW.