He does his best to keep as low a profile as possible, but the man who may be Naperville’s top philanthropist has again left his mark on the community he loves.
The 42,000-square-foot building that once housed Jim Moser’s lumber company, and later his development firm, officially was sold to the DuPage Children’s Museum on Tuesday. Museum officials were at the building at 301 N. Washington St. to sign closing papers on the property, a move made possible when Moser sold the site at $1.2 million under its appraised value.
“I don’t think anything can be said of Jim Moser except that he continues to be one of the most generous people in Naperville,” Mayor George Pradel said. “His love for children is demonstrated today.”
Moser’s donations of time and money were instrumental in bringing Naperville its well-known Riverwalk and the “Safety Town” facility, a child-size model village near the Police Department used to teach safety rules. City leaders and museum officials were quick to credit Moser for making Naperville’s latest addition a reality.
Moser was born in a house that stood only a few hundred feet from the three-acre property that will become the museum. He worked at the property in the 1940s when it was a coal yard.
Sitting at his desk in the offices of Moser Enterprises Inc., Moser said he made the large donation because he wanted the museum for his hometown. He said he plans to continue to do what he can to invest in the future of the city’s children.
“I am not the exception in having that feeling for the children of Naperville,” said Moser, who also will donate the building’s furniture to the museum. “We all want to take care of our children the best we can. That is the way we all feel here.”
Moser said it will be sad to leave the building he has worked in for more than 30 years, but he agrees with museum officials who call the site ideal. Moser’s business will remain on site until a new building for it is finished.
He said much of the credit also must go to the city, which will grant the museum $450,000 over the next three years, and the Naperville Park District, which has pledged $300,000 during the same period through the Naperville Foundation for the Arts.
The interactive exhibits and programs of the DuPage Children’s Museum will open to the public in phases beginning next June. The 10-year-old museum will continue to operate in its current home in the Wheaton Park District community center, 1777 S. Blanchard Rd., for 18 months.
