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Riverwalk Overview
The most prominent natural feature in McHenry is the Fox River.
The river bisects the town and easily creates a face for the
community yet there are only a small number of people that have
access to the River aside from that afforded by Weber’s Park.
In turn, the river is also tied to our older downtown areas;
areas that have begun to struggle while trying to compete with Big
Box stores that locate themselves on the edge of town where land is
abundant. With those
facts in mind, five goals governing a potential Riverwalk were
established and the design work on the project began.
Those goals are as follows:
Goals
1. To
create a new image for McHenry
2. To
revitalize the downtown areas
3.
To improve our residents quality of life
4.
To re-establish McHenry as the Gateway to the Chain-of-Lakes
5.
To provide the basis for many new development opportunities
The
Riverwalk is almost one mile long and runs from the Route 120 Boone
Creek Bridge to Weber’s Park.
The path is to run along the South bank of Boone Creek east
to the Riverwalk Place Townhome development.
A new pedestrian bridge is to be installed that would connect
the South bank of the creek to Riverside Drive.
It is here that the path will cross to the North side of the
creek and turn the corner to the West side of the Fox River.
The path proceeds north under both the Route 120 Bridge and
the Pearl Street bridge that span the river ending at Weber’s Park
with a proposed water feature.
The Riverwalk is broken into three “Zones”.
The zones reflect the setting and theme for each section.
Historic Zone
The Historic Zone is centered in the oldest
part of town. The south
bank of the historic zone is currently the most heavily wooded
natural area along the walk.
The obvious highlight of the Historic Zone is the proposed
re-use of the old Pearl St. bridge to connect to the municipal
parking lot on the north side of the creek.
The Terra Cotta Company has agreed to donate a section of the
bridge to be restored and included in the project.
The terrain and the natural aspect of the area lend itself well to
an element such as water cascading over boulders on the embankment.
To enhance the nature of the Historic Zone a large portion of
the steel seawall is to be removed and replaced with a more natural
boulder and stacked stone edge.
Residential Zone (Phase I)
In
the Residential Zone the
path will
run along the creek past the former Medical Arts building site, the
McHenry Villa & the Riverwalk Place Townhomes. In order to
accommodate the future Riverwalk, both the McHenry Villa & Lanco
Development deeded the shoreline portion of the land along the
length of their properties to the city.
A new pedestrian bridge that will span the creek and connect to
Riverside Drive will be erected on the townhome site.
The bridge will be 10 feet above the water level
allowing boats to easily pass underneath to proceed upstream.
The low profile of the bridge gives it a very neat and clean
appearance and allows the residents of the townhomes to maintain
sightlines to the river. The pedestrian bridge is also the
connection between the Residential Zone and the Commercial Zone.
Commercial Zone
There will be a number of elements that distinguish the Riverwalk,
such as signage with a particular style, paver paths, and gazebos.
However, the one true face that the project has taken on is
the Miller’s Point area.
With three large gazebos and a grand pavilion of brick pavers,
Miller’s Point will be ideally suited for any number of special
events.
The pathway will continue north and pass under the Route 120 Bridge.
The area behind Riverside Drive has been redesigned to help
attract business for the downtown district.
The section will
continue to be an area of transformation as business owners
will not only have to consider their street frontage, but also the
river and Riverwalk frontage.
Finally passing under the bridge at Pearl Street the walk ends (or
begins) at Weber’s Park where a new restroom facility will be built
in the park, a new pathway and new public piers will also be
installed. Large stacked
stones will be placed along the riverbank providing a clean look and
increased accessibility to the River.
Plans for Weber’s Park also have one of the more exciting
interactive features along the Riverwalk. The Park will be
highlighted with a zero depth water feature that uses lights and
squirts water from the ground.
A new park entryway will have a short brick wall that will
distinguish the park and prevent children from running into the
street.
The Riverwalk will be built in five phases each of which offers a
number of unique redevelopment opportunities.
These phases are clearly laid out inside of this brochure.
Construction on phase one
HAS BEGUN
and will be completed in 2007.
Construction of future phases is tied to the redevelopment in
the downtown districts, as the Riverwalk relies on TIF receipts to
fund the project. One
phase of the Riverwalk that has unlimited potential is the current
site of the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The city council has made the commitment to abandon the plant
and shift capacity to another plant by 2010.
This peninsula offers some of the best views on the river.
The future of McHenry and its downtown has never looked brighter.
Riverwalk Overall Site Plan
click on the above for a larger image
A model of the Riverwalk is available for viewing in the lobby of
the Municipal Center, 333 S. Green Street.
Phase I of the Riverwalk begins at the Green Street bridge with a
street crossing and a
gazebo on the east side of the street.
The brick paver pathway
continues east past the site of the
Curtis Commercial project and the McHenry Villa to the Riverwalk
Place Townhomes. At the
townhomes the pathway transitions to a composite wood walkway that
cantilevers over the water.
The most important feature of Phase I, the new pedestrian
bridge, can be found at the townhome project and spans the creek to
connect to Riverside Drive.
The bridge creates a link between two of the downtown
districts that, in the past, may have seemed isolated from one
another..
Construction of Phase I of the Riverwalk began in February 2006 with
the installation of a seawall to stabilize the stream bank and serve
as a foundation for the new natural boulder edge shoreline.
Construction on the walk itself began in the summer of 2006.
Though the walk has been utilized extensively throughout the
construction process,
the final details were put in place for our Grand Opening on:
September 22, 2007
WATCH THE RIVERWALK MOVIE
(The movie is currently set up for Windows Media
player. It is a large file and may take several minutes to
load.)
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