I’m not sure where to begin to bring you up to speed on this development. Briefly, the Confederation Board and membership historically have taken strong oppositional stands against this property development. Essentially, the proposed structure is way too huge for the small area it will rest on.
At one time there were some 30 high-end condos, but now 61 to 65 apartments will be part of this plan. There is also a major shift to create a 130-room hotel under the banner of Holiday Inn Express. To make the development more unbearable, the developer has proposed to increase the height to 90 feet for the hotel building, with the opposing Loggia and theatre building coming in at 66 to 68-plus feet. These heights have blown past the approved height limit of 60 feet for our downtown area.
For reference, the Northern Trust and Naperville Township buildings will be completely dwarfed by the massiveness of the development. I point out these Riverwalk buildings because they serve as role models for this area. These new super-sized structures will subtract from the downtown ambiance.
We cannot imagine the effect balconies extending from the building over a narrow roadway below will have. Canyon comes immediately to mind.
I do not have the space to write about traffic congestion, concerns about fire protection and the out pouring of people all encroaching on a way-to-narrow Water Street.
What appeared intuitively to be a bad situation now could be our worst nightmare.
There are many concerns that must be considered in the approval chain. We ask that you actively become engaged in this Confederation process to preserve the crown jewel of our Riverwalk.Please bear in mind the worthiness of this effort. Remember, whatever will be done, if in error, will be irreversibly dumped on us forever.
Dr. Bob Buckman, President
Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation
drbobbuckman@sbcglobal.net
