Developers 'Diligently Working' on Water Street Project, Ask City for More Time

Residents eager to see finalized plans for the proposed Water Street development will have to wait a little longer.

Get news in your inbox. Sign up for the Patch newsletter.

Like Naperville Patch on Facebook.

Marquette Companies, the developer of the proposed 2.4-acre multi-use project, was set to present revised plans to Naperville City Council members Tuesday night, but the presentation was pushed back to the March 5 meeting at the request of Marquette Companies.

"Additional work must be done in order to finalize our development proposal and to present it to the City Council," Marquette Companies stated in a letter to City Council dated Feb. 12.

According to the letter, the developer has been "diligently working" on the revisions. Marquette Companies anticipated submitting newly revised documents to the city by Feb. 14. 

"We will be meeting with City staff to develop the financial structure of this public/private initiative so as to make it financially viable for Marquette and financially beneficial for the City," the letter states. 

The property is within a tax increment financing (TIF) district. Discussions regarding the TIF district as well as "other incentives will be presented to the City Council at an upcoming meeting," according to the city.

No further details regarding the development were discussed Tuesday night, but the proposed project would sit south of the Riverwalk between Main and Webster streets and hold a hotel, retail shops, restaurant, office space as well as a parking deck.

Many changes have been made to the project over the last few months, including one full story of the planned six-story Holiday Inn Express being removed and residential apartments eliminated from the development plans.

In January, hundreds of people gathered to get a look at those revisions when Marquette Companies held an open house at Naper Settlement's Pre-Emption House.

At that time, plans included a reduction of parking spaces from 580 to 524. The spaces would be housed inside a parking deck, which was reduced to a height of 61 feet. A total of 404 of those parking spaces would be unreserved and available to the public.

Residents as well as some City Council members who have been critical of the plan previously cited concerns regarding the height of the proposed Holiday Inn Express hotel, which would be named Naperville Riverwalk Hotel.

In January, the hotel remained at five stories, but the height was reduced to 61 feet, with a 69-foot architectural element. The Loggia Building, located north of the hotel, connected by an elevated pedestrian bridge, is also the same height.

The number of hotel rooms was also reduced from 177 to 166. The main Naperville Riverwalk Hotel building would house 101 rooms with another 65 riverfront rooms in the Loggia Building.

Along with retail and commercial space, the Loggia Building would also hold a rooftop restaurant overlooking the DuPage River.

The project has been met with mixed reviews by residents who have discussed the development on Patch as well as Patch's Facebook page.

"Overall, I'm in favor of the project, as long as residents stay on top of the details," Rebekah posted on Facebook. 

"We're looking more and more like down town Aurora. Soon they will have to re route and assign one way streets," Christina posted. 

In a Patch Poll, 48 percent of readers said they support the project, 9 percent said they would support it if the height of the hotel was reduced and 42 percent said they do not support the project because it is too big for the downtown area.

Earlier: 

New Revisions for Downtown Water Street Hotel Project

Changes Made to 'Game-Changing' Naperville Water Street Project

Do you support the Water Street project? Let us know in our poll and in the comments below.