M Focus on: Building & Construction
Under construction: Naperville pursues project to boost its downtown By MICHELLE BLOUNT | The Municipal
The city of Naperville, Ill.’s, transportation, engineering and development department and the Downtown Naperville Alliance have begun a five-phase plan that will give Naperville’s downtown area an update. Included updates will improve accessibility and safety in the area while making it easier to maneuver downtown by widening sidewalks for pedestrians. The city will also give the entire area a cosmetic upgrade with new landscaping. Bill Novack, director of TED, discussed how in the 1970s Naperville had a cute and successful downtown area, but during that time, a regional shopping mall was built on the outskirts of town, and Naperville’s city council and downtown businesses were 24 THE MUNICIPAL | MAY 2022
scared that everyone would start going to the mall and not visit the downtown area. Novack said a Naperville group got together and constructed an urban plan and made streetscape improvements, which was great for its time.
ABOVE: Downtown Naperville’s last major improvement occurred in ’70s and early ’80s. It is currently undergoing construction that will improve accessibility and safety in the area. (Jacob Boomsma/ Shutterstock.com)
“You have streetscapes from the ’70s and early ’80s, well, you fast-forward to 2020, and it’s pretty worn, and it’s looking bad,” Novack said, adding, “Our public works department has done a great job keeping it together.” The timing for streetscape improvements began when a downtown property owner
