Wheaton begins downtown revitalization with water, sewer project
After years of planning, the first step in a revitalization of downtown Wheaton has started with the replacement of underground infrastructure serving restaurants and shops.
Construction crews broke ground this week on a $1.1 million water main and sanitary sewer project under a segment of Front Street, ushering in a larger-scale effort to bolster the central business district.
Urban design architects have laid out a multiyear plan to turn the downtown into a vibrant destination with new gathering spaces, signs, landscaping, rebuilt streets and wider sidewalks.
City council members next month will get an update on the initial phase of that scheme, focusing on new-look streetscape for Front Street and a downtown plaza.
The building materials chosen for Front Street will serve as a template for later stages of the project, which could cost $35 million, though the council has not yet settled on a scope.
The below-ground utility improvements will run from Front and West streets near the Metra station to Front and Cross streets near the Wheaton 121 apartment complex.
The city has hired Copenhaver Construction to complete the work before Nov. 17. Under the terms of the contract, the Gilberts-based company would have to pay the city a $3,500 penalty each day the project extends beyond that deadline.
But city officials are confident contractors will finish the job by the weekend before Thanksgiving to allow for uninterrupted holiday activities downtown.
Officials also are working closely with businesses to schedule water service disruptions as crews replace three of the four sections of water mains under Front Street. Those pipes are 85 to 90 years old.
Mains under one block - between Hale and Main streets - will remain in place. Those pipes were installed about 30 years ago.
Traffic is flowing on the south lane of Front Street during construction. City code permits crews to work from 7 a.m. through dusk, but Copenhaver contractors are ending the day around 5 p.m. After that, both lanes of Front are open for the downtown's nighttime patrons.
"There will be certain aspects of the work that will require a full road closure with detour for a limited time, at which time traffic will be rerouted around the block where crews are working," a city notice to downtown businesses states.
Though there's some degree of pain involved with the project, officials are encouraging shoppers to patronize the downtown and park in the Wheaton Place garage at 232 W. Wesley St., Assistant City Manager John Duguay said. On-street parking also is available on north-south streets.
Duguay this week introduced the first of weekly videos the city will post on social media with updates about the project.
"Were trying to minimize disruption to patrons but also to businesses," he said.
City-hired consultants from Design Workshop, meanwhile, will meet with the council Oct. 9 to discuss the Front Street reconstruction that could begin in spring 2018.
The council also will hear a recommendation from city staffers about how to pay for the entire streetscape plan.
Roughly two-thirds of the 23 street segments encompassed in the plan fall within a tax increment financing district that's set to expire in December 2022.