Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 5-1-24

16 I NEWS I
May 1, 2024
MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE
@MIDRIVERS_NEWS
MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
Streets of Caledonia today
By JOHN TREMMEL
Six years after it was announced and
despite bumps in the road, the Streets
of Caledonia mixed-use development is
clearly taking shape.
The planned unit development (PUD) is
primarily located northwest of the intersection
of Interstate 64 and Hwy. DD, with
a smaller parcel near the Missouri Rush
Soccer Club fields.
Residential development is about 80%
complete, years ahead of schedule.
In October 2017, Payne Family Homes
announced a $400 million, mixed-use
development to be built in O’Fallon, along
Hwy. DD, across I-64 from the Winghaven
development and Mastercard International.
The developer then worked for about 17
months with the city and its staff to flesh
out and finalize rezoning requirements and
an acceptable overall area plan.
In March 2019, the O’Fallon City Council
gave final approval to a request by
Payne Family Homes for the rezoning of
land along with an area plan for a 260-plusacre
PUD named the Streets of Caledonia.
In acreage, the development is about onefourth
the size of the huge Winghaven
development built between 1998 and 2005.
The original Streets of Caledonia plan
included 657 Payne single-family houses
and townhomes on 153 acres. Ground
was broken and construction started in
May 2020, with sales starting in the fall of
2020. Payne subsequently became Fischer
Homes and was joined in the development
by Lombardo Homes.
The PUD was designed to have 30 acres
of common ground, with lakes, fountains,
walking trails, a community pool, a clubhouse,
a playground, a bocce ball court and
a pickleball court.
However, in late March 2024, council
member Nathan Bibb (Ward 3) said, “All
residential amenities are done.”
He predicted that the project should be
sold out in 2025.
The original plan included 93 acres of
mixed-use retail development, entertainment,
office space, medical and hospitality
space. Some of that has started, with much
more to come.
Commercial businesses opened since
2019 include the new Barron Swim School
(indoor); Casa Tequilla Cantina & Grill
(in the former Llewelyn’s restaurant and
former Q64 restaurant location next to
the Missouri Rush Soccer Club); a new
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select
Properties building; a new MotoMart gas
station with a car wash and drive-through
food service; and a new Exxon-Mobile
On The Run gas station with car wash and
drive-through food service.
In addition, a two-story, 66,000-squarefoot
SSM Outpatient Center at 301 Caledonia
Parkway is scheduled to be completed
in July and open in September 2024, creating
about 125 jobs.
A new 8,000-square-foot First Community
Credit Union branch is also under
construction at the corner of Caledonia
Parkway and Hwy. DD.
On March 7, O’Fallon Planning and
Zoning approved a site plan for a dental
building at 200 Rush Way, adjacent to
the soccer fields and across Rush Way
from the Exxon-Mobil gas station. Kraner
Family Dentistry will occupy that building
as soon as construction is completed.
Bibb explained that Streets of Caledonia
Commercial continues to market to medical,
office, hospitality, technology and
retail developers. The retail areas looked
at are large-store sports, grocery, large
discounters, large home improvement and
membership wholesale clubs.
Bibb said that commercial developers
continues to take in fill dirt for the middle
areas and is designing the distribution of
storm sewer, sanitary sewer and electrical
infrastructure throughout the planned commercial
areas.
Bibb said about $900,000 of work is left,
including adding third lanes along Dalriada
Boulevard and Longhaven Drive.
The council and nearby residents had
insisted on upgrades to the road network in
the Streets of Caledonia area.
In January 2020, the O’Fallon City
Council approved plans and funding for
improvements to Hwy. DD from the I-64
interchange to the western boundary of the
Streets of Caledonia, plus improvements
to the I-64 interchange itself at Winghaven
Boulevard and Hwy. DD.
Construction started in late summer 2021
and was completed by fall 2022, including
additional lanes, widened lanes, more
turn lanes, a new signalized intersection, a
new roundabout, a new two-five lane road
named Caledonia Parkway, a new two-lane
Dalriada Boulevard and a new two-lane
Longhaven Drive, all designed to accommodate
the higher traffic volumes from, to
and within the development.
The $20 million cost of those road
improvements was split, with 50% coming
from the St. Charles County Road Board,
25% from MoDOT, 12.5% from the developer
and 12.5% from the city of O’Fallon.
In addition, St. Charles County completed
the connection of Caledonia Parkway’s
western end with the I-64 South
Outer Road, which in turn runs west to
connect with Town Square Avenue/Hwy.
N. If desired, westbound drivers can exit
Streets of Caledonia “the back way” without
getting on Hwy. DD.