North Central College wants new gateway entrance to increase campus visibility

With an eye toward increasing visibility for its downtown Naperville campus, North Central College is seeking city permission to add a gateway entrance on Washington Street.

College officials made the request at Wednesday's meeting of the city's planning and zoning commission. It unanimously was recommended for city council approval.

The gateway would be built on vacant land owned by the college, on the east side of Washington Street just across the west branch of the DuPage River from the campus.

The site, north of the Burger King where Aurora Avenue intersects with Washington Street, was purchased by the college in 2012. The college worked with the city to raze an existing structure with plans of turning the area into a park.

"This gateway feature will identify the college as part of the Naperville community and create an entrance to the college's campus," said Kathleen West, an attorney representing North Central College.

An arched sign above the entrance would stand nearly 15 feet tall and be internally illuminated. It'd be installed on multiple stone columns that match existing columns throughout the campus.

The college requested two variances from the commission: one to install the sign and another to extend the time frame for installation because of the pending Washington Street bridge reconstruction. The site will be used by the city as a construction staging area, which means the entrance and park improvements won't be completed until at least 2025.

The exact placement of the gateway entrance is undetermined and will depend on utility locations and new right of way resulting from the construction.

"The acquisition of the property by the college and the agreement between the city and the college created a city-college partnership which eliminated an undesirable building," said West adding, it "will create a park with Riverwalk amenities, which can be enjoyed by the entire community."