More than 250 interested individuals, including a number of City Councilmen and staff, were attracted to the Pre-Emption House at Naper Settlement Thursday evening to see the unveiling of the revised plans for the development of the Water Street District.
For a comprehensive set of plans visit www.positivelynaperville.com/water-street-plans.
Marquette Companies, Developers of the Water Street District mixed-use development proposed for the southern end of Downtown Naperville, introduced the revised plans— a mix of retail, restaurant and upscale, urban boutique hotel and class A office space—during a four-and-a-half-hour open house. Delivered to City Staff and members of City Council late last week for discussion, the plans were offered to the public for feedback. Large response cards were available to all who attended. According to Karen Rediger, one of the representatives from Marquette who spent the evening greeting members of the community, they ran short of printed brochures.
“This review process has really been a public-private partnership to fulfill the vision of Water Street,” noted Nick Ryan, Managing Director of the Marquette Companies, in a press release. “We have listened to the Council and the public comments and honed our plans to the point where I believe that the updated plans will meet the guidelines and spirit of the Water Street Vision Statement and the Naperville Downtown 2030 Plan. Our goal is that the plan we ultimately present in February will be an outstanding and viable development for Naperville.”
The Hotel Building has been reduced to 5 stories, with a Roof height of 61’2”, a Parapet height of 65’2” and an architectural element at 69 feet. The hotel will feature 101 rooms in the main building and include first floor commercial, retail, restaurant and guest amenities, a second floor lobby with meeting rooms and guest rooms as well as guest rooms on floors 3, 4 and 5. A Pedestrian Bridge will give hotel guests access to the Loggia Building from the 2nd floor lobby.
Amenities of the Naperville Riverwalk Hotel (some which will be located across the street in the Loggia Building,) will include a spa, swimming pool, meeting rooms, luxury bridal suites and guest suites.
The Loggia Building, with 5 stories, has been reduced to a Roof height of 61’8”, with a Parapet of 64’4”and an architectural element at 69 feet. The building will include first floor retail, commercial and restaurant space, with the second floor offering additional restaurant space as well as a full service Spa facility. An additional 65 hotel rooms and suites are on floors 3, 4 and 5, with stunning views of the DuPage River and downtown. The north elevation of the building steps back twice, at the third and fifth floors, to minimize visual impact and mass on the Riverwalk side.
A portion of the set back 5th floor is given over to a roof-top restaurant providing residents and visitors alike a unique and breathtaking view of our town both daytime and evening. This amenity could provide a convenient spot for entertaining visiting dignitaries, wedding parties, guest artists performing at Wentz and Pfeiffer Halls, business people and college alums. The Loggia Building offers pedestrians a large, restive 8,715 square foot Plaza with a Boardwalk strolling area and fountain, providing a gracious entry to the Riverwalk linear park with art wall along the southern bank of the DuPage River.
The Theater Building has been reduced to 4 stories at 48’4 with a parapet of 52’8”. The first floor is comprised of retail, commercial and restaurant space, while floors 2, 3 and 4 will be offices. The spaces on the East face of the Theater Building are also oriented to the sweeping plaza overlooking the fountain and Loggia Building.
The Parking Garage has been reduced in height to 61’2” at the roof with a parapet of 64’6”. The garage, which features a single-thread configuration, will provide 524 parking spaces, 404 of which are unreserved. Available parking inventory signage similar to that on the other two downtown parking decks is being proposed, as well as ingress/egress directional and way-finding signage to ease traffic flow in the area. Developers are working with City staff and advisors to consider additional traffic controls in the area during periods of increased traffic .
A 3-story Office Building is situated on the southeast corner of Webster Street and Aurora Avenue. Pedestrian Access to Water Street from the Parking Garage is via a 2058 square foot Paseo.
“We will be sharing the public comments we receive with the City, as we fine tune our plans.” said Jeff Prosapio, Director, Marquette Companies. “A lot of time and diligent work from a lot of people has gotten us to this point. We value the collaborative spirit of so many professionals, from City staff, Council and our professional team-all of whom have contributed immensely- as well as the obvious passion of the citizens of Naperville. Marquette is a Naperville-based company and several of our partners and investors live in Naperville. Our desire is to have Water Street be a thriving development that we all can feel ownership in and be proud of.”
In the next several weeks, feedback from the community and members of City Council and staff will help finalize the plans that will be presented to the City Council on February 19.
Attendees seemed to embrace the lower heights and less density of the revised plan. More than one person, in essence, said, “The project seems to be heading in the right direction.”
Several people wanted more traffic studies before approval. One resident suggested traffic would be a good exercise for the Transportation Advisory Board to address.
A number of interested attendees said they preferred the plan supported by the Planning and Zoning Commission as it had been proposed to City Council for approval in August 2012. They saw no need for the reduction in size.
Just as the Water Street District redevelopment calls for a mixed-use, comments were mixed.
Renderings courtesy of Marquette Companies.
