St. Charles announces a call for artists for an upcoming street festival

The city of St. Charles has announced a call for artists for Paint the Town: A Frenchtown Street Mural Art Festival, to be held on Second Street in the city’s hip Frenchtown borough on May 19–21. Join this three-day public art installation festival as a participating artist and bring your original creation to life on the pavement of this trendy St. Charles borough. The festival will span a 0.6-mile stretch of Second Street and involve six intersections, and will fea- ture food and drink vendors, live music, and family-friendly activities.

Learn more about the festival and submit your application online: www. stcharlescitymo.gov/1125/Paint-theTown-A-Frenchtown-Street-Mural. Completed applications must be submitted by Sunday, March 5, at 11:30 p.m.

Each artist will be assigned an intersection along Second Street. Artwork will be painted directly onto the asphalt, which measures 27 feet by 38 feet (just over 1,000 square feet). Artists selected for the Paint the Town festival will be compensated with a flat rate of $5,000 per intersection, which can be used to cover the cost of materials and labor, including the hiring of additional workers if the artist requires assistance.

Paint the Town is open to professional and practicing artists residing in Missouri and surrounding areas. Artists must be available for installation

May 19–21 (with a rainout date scheduled in June). Art installations must be complete before sundown on May 21. Please take into consideration the size of the mural when applying.

To apply, artists may fill out a Request for Qualification form. Artists must submit digital copies of their artist biography and interest letter, resume/CV, and 10 images representing previous projects.

City of St. Charles conducting independent investigation at well field

The city of St. Charles, in response to USEPA’s limited subsurface investigation of the contamination at the Elm Point Well Field, has elected to conduct its own independent investigation.

The city’s investigation will include the installation of 26 permanent monitoring wells at 13 locations. Groundwater can be repeatedly sampled from these new wells to better define the extent of the contamination emanating from the Ameren Huster Road Substation and will allow for a more complete characterization of the site under a variety of hydrological conditions such as drought, river levels etc. This characterization of the Elm Point Well Field, which has not fully been completed under USEPA’s management, will also provide an early warning of migration of hazardous chemicals towards the city’s drinking water wells. This investigation began the week of Jan. 30, with the installation of the wells being completed within 60 days.

The wells will be installed at two depths: 65-75 feet and 85-95 feet, allowing for better prediction of how operating the city’s well field will affect the potential movement of the contamination from the Ameren Substation.

The city of St. Charles has repeatedly raised concerns that a limited one time “direct-push” groundwater sampling can create strong bias in contamination concentrations caused by sample disturbance (i.e. pressure decrease, temperature increases, etc.), the sampling intervals and sample cross contamination. The city regrets USEPA’s decision to not more fully evaluate the Elm Point Well Field but is choosing to move forward with their own more complete investigation to ensure that the drinking water in St. Charles remains, as it is today, safe and reliable to meet the needs of its citizens.

“We are committed to doing whatever it takes to continue to provide safe drinking water to our residents,”

Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County hosts Women Build kickoff event

Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County is hosting a 2023 Women Build kickoff party on Tuesday, March 7, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Habitat St. Charles ReStore at 186 Mid Rivers Center in St. Peters. Appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.

Women Build, a Habitat for Humanity International program, launched in 1991, provides opportunities for women to take proactive steps in serving their communities. The local affiliate encourages individuals, community groups, organizations and companies to organize or sponsor a 2023 Women Build team. To learn more, visit www.habitatstcharles.org or call 636-978-5712, ext. 126.

Although the local Habitat affiliate’s Women Build event takes place during 2023 Women in Construction Week, a national initiative to highlight the work of women in the industry, no construction experience is necessary to build with

Women Build. Volunteers work under the guidance of the Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County construction team and industry professionals, as well as future Habitat homeowners.

“Building a Habitat home from the ground up can be an empow- ering experience for Women Build participants,” said Michelle Woods, executive director, Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County. “Whether you are learning new skills, or simply adding more skills to your tool belt, it’s a rewarding experience for everyone involved.” said St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer. “We will do the necessary testing and evaluation to ensure that we have the full, complete picture of what is happening in the well field, so we can make the best decision for our city and the residents moving forward.”

Nominate an outstanding business for the 2023 Grow St. Charles Award

The city of St. Charles is now accepting nominations for the Grow Saint Charles Award. This award is presented to a local business each year that has made an extraordinary impact on the city. Businesses that have contributed to the city’s growth and prosperity, supported local charitable causes, or created outstanding environments for their employees are eligible to be nominated with this award.

In 2022, the Grow St. Charles Award was awarded to the Olde Town Spice Shoppe, a specialty spice, food, and tea shop on historic Main Street. They were recognized for their tireless promotion of the region, their charitable contributions to the community and their care for the environment and their employees.

“We’re blessed to have so many strong, community-minded businesses in the city of St. Charles, and it’s important that we recognize their efforts to make our city such a wonderful place to live and shop,” says Mike Klinghammer, Director of Economic Development for the city. “Each year, doz- ens of businesses are nominated for the Grow St. Charles Award, and I’m excited to see who our community nominates for the 2023 award.”

Awards will be presented on May 17 by Mayor Dan Borgmeyer at the annual Small Business of the Year Awards Luncheon, hosted by the St. Charles Regional Chamber. Nominate a local business by visiting www.stcEcoDev. com. Nominations must be submitted by March 31, at 5 p.m.

GBT Realty Corporation, a leading national commercial development and investment company headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, sold The Shoppes of Mid Rivers, its 270,000-sq. ft. St. Peters shopping center completed in 2018. The sale to Jenel Real Estate was finalized in late December for $40.7 million. Managing Directors Amy Sands and Clinton Mitchell and Director Michael Nieder of JLL represented GBT Realty. No additional transactional details are available.

“We developed The Shoppes of Mid Rivers to be this submarket’s primary, go-to shopping center, bringing much-needed amenities for the residents of St. Charles County,” explains Ford Tomlin, vice president, capital holdings, GBT Realty. “The success of this center is a testament to our proven development strategy of creating power centers and neighborhood shopping centers in emerging and growing markets. After completing the project and leasing it to top retailers, we were able to take advantage of the strong market and a favorable exit cap rate by selling it now.

“When GBT broke ground on The Shoppes of Mid Rivers in 2016, it was the largest retail development in this submarket since 2008,” continues Tomlin.

The shopping center is located at the intersection of Interstate 70 and Mid Rivers Mall Drive on 27.85 acres. Its prominent location on a thriving retail corridor provides unimpeded visibility to 140,000 vehicles per day. A population of 146,998 consumers with an average household income of $96,118 resides within a five-mile radius.

With the recent signing of Old Navy to 15,000 sq. ft., The Shoppes of Mid Rivers is 99% leased with only 5,000 sq. ft. of space available. Filling the tenant lineup are national brands including Burlington, Academy Sports, HomeGoods, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, Ulta Beauty, Five Below and more. The center has become known as a premiere dining destination, with a diverse roster of popular and award-winning restaurant options that includes Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant, Outback Steakhouse, Pappy’s Smokehouse and Gulf Shores Restaurant & Grill. National tenants account for 93% of the center’s net operating income with several tenants recently signing new 10-year leases.