Apartments, roof-level event center proposed for northwest Naperville

Naperville could get a roof-level event center atop a 285-unit apartment building, if the city council likes the idea as much as the planning and zoning commission did.

The building would be called Lincoln at CityGate Centre, and it would be built at the northwest corner of Westings Avenue and CityGate Lane, within the CityGate campus established since 2005 at Route 59 and I-88.

The campus includes Hotel Arista, several restaurants, the corporate office of Calamos Investments and parking garages, and it's expanding across Ferry Road to include CityGate Centre North, a 209,589-square-foot ice arena and concert space with two NHL-regulation-sized hockey rinks.

"The proposed residential component and event center are critical pieces to the puzzle to bring additional vibrancy to the CityGate Centre," attorney Vince Rosanova said.

The apartments are designed to attract professionals at a median age of 35 who work along I-88, Rosanova said. The building would include a courtyard, an outdoor pool, an interior parking garage with resident spaces on the same floor as their units, a fitness center, a resident lounge and a dog spa.

But residences weren't originally part of the CityGateCentre plan. So the developer is seeking permission to allow the apartments and to build a taller structure with fewer parking places than typically would be allowed.

The planning and zoning commission granted early approval of those requests during a meeting last week.

The five-story building would be 77 feet tall instead of 43 and would have a total of 845 parking spaces instead of 1,022.

But those changes didn't raise any concerns among planning and zoning commissioners, who described the project as "beautiful" and "outstanding."

"It'd be something I'd definitely be excited to see," Chairman Bruce Hanson said.

Plans for the roof-level event center call for a full kitchen to serve up to 1,000 guests. The space would be connected to the nearby Hotel Arista by a second-story enclosed walkway.

While planning and zoning commissioners were supportive of the proposal, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 has voiced its disapproval.

Jay Strang, chief school business official, wrote the city a letter saying the district opposes construction of the apartments because of overcrowding at nearby schools and inaccurate estimates of students who could live in the units.

The district's concerns did not fall under the purview of the planning and zoning commission. But the city council can take them into consideration during future discussion.