Future hazy for downtown Naperville performing arts center

The organizers behind a proposed performing arts center near the downtown Naperville train station are unsure whether they'll resurrect the rejected plan.

Naperville city councilmen recently nixed the controversial Omnia proposal, which also includes a parking garage, condos and retail components.

Omnia President Bev Patterson Frier called the decision "very disappointing."

"We just can't understand or comprehend why the council said no," she said. "We feel confident we have a plan that will build more parking, underground parking, and at no cost to us taxpayers."

The plan calls for condos, townhouses, single-family homes, stores and restaurants that would be built and paid for by a developer.

The Omnia nonprofit group's feature components are a $190 million performance center and commuter parking garage on land that is largely owned by the city.

Much of the funding for this portion of the plan would have come from the city issuing $130 million in bonds through a tax increment financing district.

In a TIF district, the property tax revenue is frozen for up to 23 years. While the property value of the area goes up during that time and additional tax dollars it generates would go toward development.

Councilmen said last week they couldn't risk losing taxpayer dollars if development didn't go according to plan. They rejected it with an 8-0 vote.

Patterson Frier says the plan has been misunderstood and that there are safeguards in place to ensure "very, very minimal risk, if any, to the city."

The plan had also drawn ire from some nearby residents as well as councilmen concerned about its traffic impact, 130-foot height and the density of the development.

Patterson Frier and the Omnia board have not yet decided if they will tweak the plan and bring it back to the city. They would have to wait two months to try again.

Patterson Frier said she feels let down after spending so much time and effort putting the proposal together.

Four years ago she said she presented it to some councilmen individually and was encouraged by them to continue to develop the idea further. Since that time, Omnia has been commissioning independent studies on various parts of the plan including traffic, funding and theatergoing trends.

"We had all the studies done and they were positive and we proudly came forward," she said. "We wanted to share this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."