The first stage of the Islamic Center of Naperville’s new complex on 248th Avenue, the construction of a 28,400-square-foot mosque, is complete.
As of last weekend, the mosque — a project years in the making — is fully operational, according to Islamic Center President Anees Rahman. ICN held a soft, internal opening for its community members on Dec. 15.
It hopes to hold another opening for “our friends, neighbors, (homeowners associations), the city, first responders” and other community members sometime in mid-January, Rahman said.
“Everybody’s very excited. I’m very excited,” Rahman said this week. “You know, as the president of ICN, I haven’t taken a vacation in a couple years. So I’m actually taking the vacation now that (the mosque) is officially open.”
ICN broke ground on the project in September 2022. Aurora-based architectural firm Cordogan, Clark & Associates teamed up with R.C. Wegman Construction Co., also based in Aurora, to complete the work.
ICN commemorated the mosque’s opening last weekend with a prayer service, Rahman said.
“It was pretty overwhelming,” he said. “Actually, we had quite a few people (attend).”
The mosque is the beginning of a multiyear, multiphase complex that will eventually include the construction of a school, multipurpose hall, gymnasium and mosque expansion on a 13.3-acre parcel at 3540 248th Ave. in southwest Naperville.
As initially broached, ICN estimated the work would be completed over the course of 40 years. However, phase one work took longer than ICN had originally expected amid difficulties with the availability of labor and materials, making it hard to gauge how long the project in full will take.
To that end, the center is still a ways away from tackling any further phases, according to Rahman. It could take ICN anywhere between five to 10 years to start on next stage plans, he said.
“We might be able to do it a bit earlier,” Rahman said, “but it all is going to depend on financials and how quickly we pay off phase one.”
