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St. Charles Community College presents 'field-to-table' facility; Dardenne Prairie board schedules second reading
Summary
Designers presented a new 16,000-square-foot field-to-table facility for St. Charles Community College’s Dardenne Prairie campus; the board heard site, parking and signage details and moved the amended PUD final plan to a second reading after staff updates to the packet.
City officials and project designers on April 16 heard a detailed presentation of a proposed 16,000-square-foot, single-story field-to-table facility for St. Charles Community College’s Dardenne Prairie campus and agreed to hold a second reading of the amended PUD final plan at the next meeting after staff compile an updated packet.
Mike Berkovich, an architect with Gemma Architects, told the board the building would include a market and small public restaurant on the northwest corner to showcase on-site produce, a teaching kitchen and three standard classrooms. “Our project is a new 1 story facility,” Berkovich said, adding the market and restaurant are intended to be open to the public.
Tom Weiss of Weiss Design Group described site logistics and parking, saying an adjacent 140-space lot exists that is currently underutilized and that parking calculations and future-parking areas are shown on the submitted sheets. “There’s actually a very large 140 space parking lot that’s not being utilized currently,” Weiss said.
Board members pressed for clarity on pedestrian access, landscaping and visibility. One council member asked about trail connections to the field; presenters said improved connections and additional landscaping could be considered in a later phase or coordinated with the college. On signage and visibility from Technology Drive, Berkovich said the college plans to monitor a marquee sign and promote the facility and its events.
Members also raised process questions about packet completeness and plan dates. A board member noted the plan dated March 25 and other sheets dated April 14; staff and the presenters confirmed the project had previously been reviewed by the planning and zoning commission and requested a single updated packet sheet be added before the second reading. The board then voted to move Bill 2523, the amended PUD final plan ordinance, to a second reading at the next meeting so the record and packet can be updated.
The presentation included exterior materials and rendering concepts: charcoal-gray metal wall panels, a standing-seam black metal roof, stone wainscot at the base and a wood-look metal soffit under the entry portal to add warmth to the building palette. Berkovich said an entry plaza would connect the new building to the existing academic building and could host farmers market events and outdoor seating.
What happens next: the board scheduled a second reading of Bill 2523 at the next meeting and asked staff to update the ordinance packet with the single-sheet addition and confirm any remaining compliance items following planning-and-zoning review.
