Naperville developer bringing 238 apartments to Villa Park
Both the “Roarin' Elgin” and the Chicago Great Western rail lines ran through Villa Park when it was an Ovaltine factory town.
A new apartment development will reflect that nexus of rail and industry in its design and name: “The Union.”
Marquette Companies — the developer behind the gleaming Water Street District in downtown Naperville and the Marq on Main in downtown Lisle — has officially broken ground on the 238-unit project along the Great Western Trail and its eastern terminus.
The seven-story building will become a new focal point in Villa Park’s business district years after the Ovaltine factory was redeveloped into apartments and the last of its smokestacks came down. Milwaukee-based Korb Architecture designed “The Union” with a brick exterior, metal accents and large windows.
The firm “did a really great job” in paying honor to the industrial history of the immediate area, said Trevor Ryan, partner and president of Marquette Companies.
The developer is incorporating approximately 7,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and the kind of amenities that will appeal to both the younger demographic and empty nesters who won’t “have to worry about all the maintenance” of a single-family home, Ryan said.
The E-shaped building will have two outdoor amenity decks on the second level, one with a “resort-style” swimming pool and the other intended to be more of a quiet, relaxing space. The Union also will feature a fitness center, coworking space and dog-friendly extras, plus bike storage with direct access to the adjacent Great Western Trail. An arched gateway marks the start of the path, built on the former CGW right of way as part of the rail-to-trails movement.
“It’s taking advantage of some of the things that are already existing in downtown Villa Park,” Ryan said.
The western rooftop amenity deck, for instance, looks over at Cortesi Veterans Memorial Park. A restored, 1920s-era Chicago Great Western depot has become a backdrop to the village’s summer concert in the park series.
“The desire for quality housing in this part of Villa Park continues to rise, as evidenced by high occupancy level at the neighboring Ovaltine Court, and the interest of those who have experienced the village to remain in the area while enjoying a city-center lifestyle,” Ryan said in a groundbreaking announcement.
More and more people, he said, are renting by choice.
“So that's, I think, certainly driving demand for apartments,” Ryan told the Daily Herald.
And yet, “The Union” is considered one of the first apartment developments to break ground in Chicago’s suburbs in 2026.
“If we see the interest rates come down and construction pricing come down, then you’d probably see a lot of projects move forward,” Ryan said.
The village approved an incentive agreement in 2025 with Marquette to develop the site, including a vacant parking lot on South Villa Avenue, into “The Union.” The developer will also provide 94 indoor public parking spaces for patrons of Cortesi park, the new Villa Park Recreation Center and the surrounding business district.
“It’s really challenging to make the math work, and that's why it was so critical to have the partnership of the village here,” Ryan said. “We wouldn't be able to build this building today without that.”
The project is seen as a catalyst for continued reinvestment in Villa Park’s Old Town area.
“They had the vision to see this as a strategic driver for their community,” Ryan said of village officials. “And they got control of this land, which gave them a lot of power in influencing what was going to happen here.”
The development will contain a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Apartments will have such high-end finishes as plank-style flooring, stainless steel appliances, and quartz, granite or similar countertops. Apartment availability and leasing are slated to begin in fall 2027.