Frenchtown has always had an historic vision for the future. The unique location and architecture has been home to well-established businesses over the years. The potential to add to that stability—through new business and recreation—is something that has been on the radar for the community for a some time.
That vision for growth—while maintaining that historic charm and independence—is now becoming a reality. In 2020, the City of St. Charles released a masterplan for the area. This plan included making use of the old rail line that once catered to the rail car manufacturer in one of the brick warehouses along the riverfront.
The idea was to have a connector—via this portion of the former industrial park—from the south end of main street to the north end of Frenchtown. With that plan now approved, businesses in Frenchtown are looking forward to that growth.
In the past three years, a number of new businesses have opened and resident growth in the area is once again on the rise. With the addition of new greenspaces, recreation areas cafes and shops, the location is being sought after as a neighborhood with a high walkability factor. Beyond the infrastructure catering to pedestrians, Frenchtown is making a concentrated effort to encourage people from surrounding areas to visit via car with new off-street public parking areas and charging stations.
Along with new pedestrian pathways and off-street parking, the plan looks to focus on improvements to the nearby riverfront which contains the only public boat ramp with access to Missouri River between Highway 70 and Highway 370.
The riverfront improvements include a proposed nature park and additional bike paths directly along the waterway. This, coupled with the the existing Boschert Greenway, would make Frenchtown one of the few destinations in the area that is accessible by designated routes via car, on foot, by bike or by boat.
For more information on the current state of the project, visit: https://www.stcharlescitymo.gov/929/Frenchtown-Great-Streets-Project
