Naperville considering new car wash along East Ogden corridor
A car wash could be added to the growing list of new Naperville businesses slated to boost dormant properties along East Ogden Avenue.
Jet Brite, a family-owned company with locations throughout the Western suburbs, has proposed tearing down a shuttered restaurant and constructing an express car wash facility at 780 and 850 E. Ogden Ave.
The 2.2-acre site sits along a central segment of the commercial corridor, a service area void of any other automobile service stations, city planner Sara Kopinski said. Staff members said they believe the use would be compatible with nearby properties and consistent with Naperville's ongoing plans to fill vacancies and enhance Ogden Avenue.
The planning and zoning commission supported Jet Brite's request for a conditional use in the commercial district last week.
Plans for the car wash comply with all zoning requirements, city documents show. Jet Brite intends to add landscaping and fencing to separate the car wash from neighboring residential and park sites, Kopinski said, and specific measures are in place for mitigating noise.
Jet Brite has at least 10 other car wash facilities in the Chicago area, the first of which opened in Addison in 2004, President Dave Dalesandro said. The company has been selling and installing car wash equipment since its inception in 1984.
"We take great pride in the physical looks of our building, property, landscaping," Dalesandro said. "We think we're going to help beautify Ogden Avenue and hopefully be a great addition to the city of Naperville."
Naperville officials have been working for years to revitalize the East Ogden corridor, with new additions including restaurants, an early learning center, national chains and a strip mall.
The city's second Costco warehouse is slated to open at the Ogden Mall property, previously home to a Kmart that closed in 2013. And construction began last fall on a 46,000-square-foot development at the North Naper Boulevard intersection - a $19 million project with an undisclosed "high-profile" grocery anchor that replaces the razed Fair Oaks Ford dealership.
In 2018, the city council approved plans to redevelop a former Mexican restaurant site into a Wash-U car wash at 1150 E. Ogden Ave., about a half mile east of the proposed Jet Brite property. The concept was underwhelming to some council members at the time, resulting in a 6-3 vote.
The facility was never built, and the entitlements granted to Wash-U have since expired, Kopinski said.
Jet Brite plans call for four drive-up automated pay stations, at least 40 vacuum stalls, and a 180-foot-long conveyorized wash tunnel and drying chamber, according to the company's application. Two to three employees will staff the car wash at all times. Hours are expected to be from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.