Article updated: 3/6/2013 11:31 PM

Would-be Naperville council members weigh in on Water Street financing

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Naperville City Council members approved this site plan for the $95 million Water Street Development. Now developers and the city must figure out who's paying for it and how.

Rendering courtesy of Marquette Companies

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Naperville City Council members have approved a site plan for the long-touted Water Street Development in downtown. But some say a much tougher battle looms as developers assemble financing for the 2.4-acre development that will include a 166-room hotel, 71,000 square feet of commercial space, 26,000 square feet of office space, a 524-space parking deck, improvements along the south shore of the Riverwalk, and a pedestrian bridge. Current council members say they're prepared for the developer to approach them with a proposal to rebate as much as $7.5 million in tax incentives for the roughly $95 million development. As recently as Wednesday, Marquette Companies spokeswoman Deb Newman said the developer has yet to approach the city for financial backing for the project, which already sits in a specially created tax increment financing district.