By 2010, downtown Naperville could feature a fine arts theater and a mid-size convention center, a full-service hotel and an upscale grocery. Visitors to the area and residents of new condominiums could use a network of new pedestrian paths to get around, or perhaps they will ride a light-rail system.
Whether this scenario is made up of solid hopes or simply pipe dreams remains to be seen, but it is part of the data being reviewed by consultants formulating a new plan for Naperville’s central business district.
An 18-member Naperville steering committee guiding the efforts of consultants met recently to discuss such a vision, review preliminary studies of the downtown zone and discuss overall goals. Floated in the meeting was a picture of what central Naperville could look like in a decade or more.
The committee is made up of municipal and business leaders and representatives of the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation, the Riverwalk Commission and North Central College.
The committee suggested that Naperville could mold the downtown area’s future through a mix of broad planning strokes and “surgical strikes” that deal with individual ideas or properties.
One of the steering committee presenters at a City Hall “visioning session” was businessman Richard Hitchcock. After splitting into subgroups, four committee members outlined thoughts that could provide focus for Chicago-based Trkla, Pettigrew, Allen and Payne Inc., the city’s consulting firm.
Naperville wants a plan that addresses traffic, land use, streetscapes, parking and pedestrian access. The document also is expected to be a framework for the consideration of architectural characteristics and the facades of new structures.
“Overall, we need to keep a dynamic environment that responds to changing times,” Hitchcock said of a downtown area that is now seeing national retailers mixing with its traditional specialty shops.
Hitchcock said a downtown plan shouldn’t overburden the area with rules and regulations strictly governing who should be there. Such a move might “kill the goose that laid the golden egg,” he said.
On the other hand, committee members said the town can’t let the area go with no controls. Hitchcock said the downtown shouldn’t be allowed to run wild in its success “just because the market is intoxicating to us.”
Representatives of the consulting firm have left little doubt that downtown Naperville is enjoying a time of plenty.
One of the firm’s consultants, Linda Goodman, told the committee that her evaluation of the downtown market shows that most developers see Naperville’s demographics as a major draw. The town’s relatively wealthy population now is estimated at more than 125,000.
Goodman said it’s a trend among many national retailers to bypass new locations in regional malls for a “Main Street format,” where stores are opened in older, traditional shopping districts.
Downtown Naperville in recent years has welcomed stores such as Gap, Eddie Bauer, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble Booksellers and Pottery Barn, and Goodman said Naperville should expect that to continue.
“There are many other national retailers who would look very favorably on locating in downtown Naperville,” she said.
Committee members said that expected influx of retailers should be accommodated, but not at the expense of local businesses that give the area its charm and make it attractive to the big names.
Goodman said other elements also will continue to bring people downtown. Attractions like the DuPage Children’s Museum, Naper Settlement, the Riverwalk and North Central College frame the area and bring people in, she said.
Phil Hanegraaf said his preliminary research shows Naperville is doing well. The city has successfully maintained a tight land-use pattern in a burgeoning retail core that has become a place where local and national retailers want to be.
What the city decides to add to the mix–a theater, a convention hall, a hotel or all three–will be a matter of some debate. Hanegraaf said his firm would like to recommend approaches and alternatives by the end of April.
Goodman said research indicates the city might be working to please two basic portions of its population.
The first is an older group of residents, who see the area as a neighborhood shopping district, she said. This group tends to live closer to the area and has identified a food store as being their top wish for the central zone.
The second group is younger and tends to live in subdivisions away from the center of town. This set of downtown users sees the area as an entertainment district, Goodman said, and is interested in seeing a fine arts theater and more cultural events.
