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Parking concerns grow at Naperville's Water Street District

There will be fewer public parking spaces than originally planned at the proposed Water Street District development in downtown Naperville.

Developers still plan to build a 520-space garage attached to a hotel on the south side of Water Street between Main and Webster streets. But now, guests and employees of the hotel, restaurants, shops and offices planned for the district are expected to take up all but 19 of the available spaces once the block is fully redeveloped.

In previous Water Street District plans, approved by the city council in April 2013, 76 parking spaces would have remained after accounting for the parking needs of guests and employees.

"The thing that was the most hard-fought was the parking," Naperville resident Kathy Benson told planning and zoning commission members Wednesday. "To go from 76 available spaces post-Water Street build out down to 19, to me that totally mitigates really all of the things that we as residents are giving up."

The main reason for the increased parking demand is the addition of an 8,700-square-foot banquet hall and conference space to hold 250 people.

Jeff Prosapio, director of property management for Naperville-based Marquette Companies, said a banquet hall seemed a good fit with the 102-room Hotel Indigo planned for the site. More space for restaurants also is proposed, with plans calling for 28,200 square feet instead of the 22,353 square feet approved in 2013.

"We've found a greater demand for restaurant uses because the district wants to be more of a hospitality destination with the hotel use as the anchor," Prosapio said.

Other changes would enlarge a building along the DuPage River, slightly shrink a riverfront plaza, add taller screening walls to hide rooftop mechanical equipment, decrease the width of a second-story pedestrian bridge, add a new Riverwalk connection behind the Naperville Township building and allow a service business to be located on the first floor in the downtown retail district.

Planning and zoning commission members expressed the most concerns about parking. As a condition of their 6-1 vote to recommend the changes to the city council, commissioners are requiring Marquette Companies to provide details about a valet parking agreement to manage overflow when busy banquets and a booked hotel ramp up demand.

"I'm rather supportive of everything, but the parking is a concern," Commissioner Robert Williams said. "It's a concern of mine going into the future. If it passes, and I sure hope it does, it's going to be spectacularly successful. And I think we're going to need more parking - sooner than later."

Of the 520 spaces to be built, 114 are projected to be used by Hotel Indigo guests, 178 by retail, office and hotel employees and 87 by banquet attendees. If other buildings on the Water Street block that are not part of the district are redeveloped, users of those businesses are estimated to need another 122 spots, leaving only 19 as surplus for other downtown visitors.

"In the short term, we believe the surplus to be much greater than that," said Anastasia Urban, development manager for the city of Naperville. "The vision statement for Water Street desired to have parking to meet the demand for Water Street, and any surplus was above and beyond bonus."

The earliest the city council could consider the requested changes would be Oct. 21, city staff members said. As a second condition of planning and zoning commission approval, Marquette Companies also agreed not to place any advertising on the pedestrian bridge that connects the main hotel on the south side of Water Street with the banquet space and more hotel suites on the north.

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  Jeff Prosapio, director of property management for Marquette Companies, explains proposed alterations to the Water Street District in downtown Naperville that would bring a banquet hall and more restaurant space among other changes. Marie Wilson/mwilson@dailyherald.com
  A slide presentation about proposed changes to the Water Street District in downtown Naperville explains why some buildings could appear to be taller from certain angles. Jeff Prosapio, director of property management for Marquette Companies, said rooftop mechanical equipment needs to be larger than anticipated, requiring separate screening walls above the originally proposed building heights. Marie Wilson/mwilson@dailyherald.com

Water Street changes

Marquette Companies, developer of the proposed Water Street District in downtown Naperville, is requesting seven changes to the plans approved in April 2013 for the 2.4-acre area on both sides of Water Street between Main and Webster streets. The changes received a positive recommendation Wednesday from the planning and zoning commission and will be considered by the city council as soon as Oct. 21.

Editor's note: This fact box has been updated to correct an error in the square footage of the proposed banquet hall for the Water Street District. The space is proposed to be 8,700 square feet.

1. Increase the size of a riverfront building to 22,836 square feet from 22,819 and decrease the size of a riverfront plaza

2. Add an 8,700-square-foot banquet hall that can seat 250 people and two conference rooms instead of a two-story restaurant

3. Increase the total square footage of restaurant space to 28,200 square feet instead of 22,353

4. Increase the height of three buildings by between 2 and 4 feet to allow for screening of taller-than-anticipated rooftop mechanical units

5. Decrease the width of a pedestrian bridge that will connect the main hotel on the south side of Water Street with other hotel suites and the banquet space on the north

6. Allow a ground-floor service use for Traveling Tots, a kids events and retail business, although zoning code generally reserves first-floor storefronts for retail

7. Extend the Riverwalk and a boardwalk across the Naperville Township property on the west side of the development

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