Lisle development adding Elmhurst craft beer restaurant
A major development in downtown Lisle may be taking longer than officials hoped, but it's progressing with plans to begin renting luxury apartments and opening restaurants and shops by next spring.
Marq on Main was projected to be complete this fall, bringing 201 apartments, 14,500 square feet of commercial, retail and restaurant space and 252 parking spots to the corner of Main Street and Burlington Avenue, Lisle Community and Economic Development Director Tony Budzikowski said in a memo.
But Developer Marquette Companies in a news release said the project suffered, as many in the area did last spring and summer, from delays in delivery of precast concrete.
Marquette Companies now is replacing original contractor, Carlson Construction, with general contractor Kinzie Real Estate Group and owner's representative Cullen Development Group. By the second quarter of next year, Marquette plans to begin renting one- and two-bedroom apartments, with restaurants and retail opening soon after.
"Demand has been very strong, both from empty nesters and young professionals who want to live in a suburban town center, close to Metra," Marquette Companies CEO Nick Ryan said in a news release about the apartments, which also include rooftop grilling stations, a resort-style pool, a tech lounge and a fitness center. "We are confident that Marq on Main will have very strong demand and provide economic stimulus to the rest of downtown Lisle."
The first part of the substructure of two 5-story buildings that will make up Marq on Main is nearing completion. Building frames are expected to be constructed by the end of the summer.
The first restaurant coming to the development - Red Arrow Tap Room - will claim 4,500 square feet and a 2,500-square-foot outdoor patio at the northeast corner of Main and Burlington, which CEO Joe Tota described as "one of the most prime spots in downtown Lisle."
The first location of Red Arrow Tap Room opened Jan. 1 in Elmhurst, offering 44 craft beers and four wines from self-service dispensers and serving a menu of house-smoked barbecue.
"We're focused more on a family-friendly establishment," Tota said, "and Lisle fits that demographic."
Tap room guests can pour their beer by the ounce and order food from a tablet in the restaurant or an app on their smartphone. The restaurant also includes all gratuities in its prices, donates to local charities, hosts live music and tries to keep things fresh.
"Every time somebody comes in," Tota said, "there's something new."
Lisle has been waiting for something new at the corner of Main and Burlington since 2004, when the old village hall was demolished. The village struck a deal with a builder, but canceled it in 2011 after the company left the site untouched for two years.
Then in 2015, Marquette Companies bought the 2.3-acre property from the village for $1 million and gained approval of its plans.
The firm manages more than 2,500 apartments in DuPage County and is completing a similar project in downtown Wheaton, after also turning an underused property in downtown Naperville into a hotel, shops and restaurants called the Water Street District.