Row home development spurs debate on Naperville’s downtown periphery

A proposed residential development that would reshape the northern edge of downtown Naperville with high-end row homes has spurred some debate about the look, feel and evolution of the area.

M/I Homes aims to build 11 units at the northwest corner of Main Street and Benton Avenue between the downtown core and nearby neighborhoods. The buildings would have oversized windows, Mansard-style rooflines, decorative ironwork and rooftop terraces.

“We think this will be a grand addition — setting a new north side of downtown,” said Russ Whitaker, an attorney who presented the project to Naperville planners.

The original Main Street Promenade, a mini downtown with a Sur La Table and Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House, and the Benton Terrace condos are to the south. The Barry’s fitness chain wants to strengthen a pedestrian “dead zone” by opening a workout studio in a long-vacant space within the Main Street Promenade East building. The site of what was supposed to be a third phase of the promenade remains vacant at the southwest corner of Main Street and Benton Avenue.

“We want rooftops downtown that are supporting commercial establishments. We want people to not have to drive downtown and find parking. We want people to live downtown,” Whitaker said.

Some residents, however, say the project is too dense and tall. The site is comprised of four parcels and has historically been owned by a church. Two homes and a church building were demolished to prime the parcels for redevelopment. Sunday services ended decades ago, according to project documents.

“I think the beauty and charm are fast leaving this city, and it may be time to protect the future of Naperville,” said Chris Carlsen, who lives on Franklin Avenue, behind the proposed development, in a 1920s-era home.

“I'd like to add that these 11 homes, where there are only four lots, don't seem to fit the character or scale of our downtown residential area,” said Alice Goodman, who lives on Main Street.

The property across the street at some point is going to be developed with a tall structure, said Mark Wright, a Naperville plan commissioner.

“I really looked at it as almost a buffer to the houses that are on Franklin and around it,” said Whitney Robbins, the panel’s chairwoman.

Whitaker said there are two spots that are most deserving of density: “It's this spot, and it's 5th Avenue,” he said, referring to the properties around the Metra station.

“Downtown is great today,” he said. “Downtown has problems, though. We've seen all kinds of problems with retail vacancy. We have problems with office vacancy.”

M/I Homes plans seven townhouse units and four duplex units. There would also be a homeowner’s association.

“It's going to live like a three-story structure off of the front,” Whitaker said of the two-unit buildings. “So if you're driving down Benton, you're not going to see four stories.”

Plan commissioners have recommended approval of the requested zoning entitlements, though it wasn’t unanimous. City council members get the final say.

The builder is seeking multiple deviations from the municipal code.

Commissioner Meghna Bansal said the proximity of the units to the neighboring homes is “also concerning” and voted “no.”

Naperville staff found that the development would provide a “transition in scale and intensity between the downtown and nearby neighborhoods,” said Sara Kopinski, who’s part of the city’s planning services team.

Wright said the design “makes a lot of sense” for what the future of the street is going to look like. He’s not concerned about the density.

“I think it's important to the downtown community,” he said. “I think it's important to the dead zones that happen on that corner of Benton and Main.”