Christian Brothers Automotive has plans to open an “upscale” auto repair business in Naperville Crossings near 95th Street and Route 59.
A representative for the Houston-based company said they have plans to add 20 shops to their 180-location franchise chain in the coming year. In addition to Naperville, they are looking at sites in Bolingbrook and Aurora .
“We tend to have our locations in more upscale markets and communities like Naperville, and our plans are to open a 10-bay facility here in a brick building that occupies 6,000 square feet,” said Jonathan Wakefield, Christian Brothers’ director of entitlements.
Wakefield and project manager Kevin Kenniff of BLA Inc., a civil engineering firm, met with a small group of residents from the Naperville Crossings area last week to lay out their plans and get feedback.
“The City of Naperville always suggests when a new project is looking to come into town that developers meet with local residents in the surrounding community to show the scope of the project and address any questions or concerns people have,” Kenniff said. “We had six people from various homeowner associations who came and saw the proposal, various elevations and landscaping plans.”
Kenn Miller, a resident of the Carillon Club of Naperville, said the presenters “were very forthcoming and impressive” and the company’s “platform model is good.”
“We liked that they are proposing an all-brick building, which I think will look a lot better, and I think they have a nice product to offer,” Miller said. “The problems for me are this was not an intended use of the development as planned and I think there are going to be some traffic issues with the fire house nearby.”
The proposed site is between Naperville Fire Station 10 at 3201 95th St. and Andy’s Frozen Custard at 3103 W. 95th St.
Wakefield said the company offers “dealer warranty-level service” that goes beyond oil changes and tire rotations.
“Part of our rollout is that we’re provided with the same tools and diagnostic equipment as the dealers and we have the means to directly address the problems,” he said. “Basically, cars today are computers on wheels and this is beyond mechanics swapping parts to try and fix problems. You need technicians to fix problems.”
Wakefield said Naperville’s demographics are “spot on” in terms of being the right market for the business, which tries to provide a high level of service.
“We have a shuttle service that can take people back home after leaving their car or get them to work if they are in the area,” he said.
The company, which began as a grassroots effort of two friends, started offering franchises in 1996 and now has locations in 19 states. While it is a “faith-based organization … that is not something we like to lead with,” Wakefield said.
“We have a number of charitable organizations that we work with and while we don’t require franchisees to give money to their local community organizations, at least 75 percent do,” he said. “That’s because of the character of people our franchise owners are.”
Wakefield said the intended owner of the Naperville location is from St. Charles and described him as “highly involved in the community.”
Christian Brothers needs a conditional use permit from the city and is scheduled to go before the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission in mid-February. If approved by the Naperville City Council, construction will take about 150 days and employee training another 30 days, Wakefield said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
