Fidelity Brokerage Services will be allowed to use the ground floor of the former Barnes & Noble store downtown for its new location, but the Naperville City Council wants safeguards to prevent other banks and financial institutions from doing the same in the future.
In a 7-2 vote Tuesday, the council approved a code variance under which Fidelity can move forward with its investment center at 47 E. Chicago Ave. Council members Ian Holzhauer and Jennifer Bruzan Taylor cast the two dissenting votes.
However, as a consequence of the company’s interest downtown, the council is seeking a code amendment to stop similar proposals from being submitted.
City code requires that the first floor of buildings in Naperville’s downtown district be limited to commercial purposes. Fidelity devised a plan in which the ground-level portion of it operation be retail-focused, although the company itself is still a financial institution. As such, it required a code variance for its first-floor operation.
Its second-floor space will be used for offices. The company is moving from its current Naperville location at 1823 Freedom Drive.
The variance request earned a positive recommendation from the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 15. City staff also recommended approval.
Ultimately, the majority of council concurred, but with two stipulations: Fidelity must employ at least 45 full-time employees at the new center and its staff levels and hours must be consistent with normal business practices of banks.
The conditions were added to ensure the center brings a new mix of employees to the city’s downtown and that employees be able to patronize neighboring businesses.
Company representatives Tuesday assured compliance.
“I’m confident that our presence will be an asset to the downtown area, enhancing its already dynamic atmosphere,” Jon Bippert, branch leader of Fidelity’s current Naperville investor center off Freedom Drive, told the council.
Caitlyn Culbertson, an attorney representing Fidelity, said, “This property was deliberately chosen by Fidelity to increase its visibility in this downtown neighborhood.”
Fidelity currently has about 250,000 clients in the greater Naperville area, and the company expects that number to “significantly increase” with the opening of its downtown center, Culbertson said.
The center’s first floor will not be just a reception area for second-level services but “truly dedicated” to serving walk-in customers, who will be able to work directly with Fidelity associates to make deposits, complete account-related documentation and address complex transactions, Culbertson said.
Still, despite company assurances that the center would be a boon to the city’s downtown, approval wasn’t without discussion.
Bruzan Taylor noted that code doesn’t allow financial institutions on the ground level of the city’s downtown district “because we’re trying to have … foot traffic where each business kind of helps the other, and that’s something that we do believe in.”
Warning that she’d be voting no on the variance request, Bruzan Taylor added, “The actual, I think, killer for me is the sign itself: Fidelity Investments. That’s what it’s going to say, Fidelity Investments. So to me, that clearly does not show this is any kind of retail banking.”
Holzhauer said, “This type of use, whether it includes banking or not, is just not what we intend in our downtown area.”
To that end, Councilman Patrick Kelly suggested later in the meeting that the city consider amending its code so that retail banks and financial institutions are no longer a permitted use for first-floor space in the downtown district.
Because that is not currently the case, Wells Fargo will be filling out the rest of available first floor space in the former Barnes & Noble store. The bank will offer traditional services, including account management, deposits, withdrawals, accounts and loans, according to Allison Laff, deputy director of Naperville’s Transportation, Engineering and Development department. It will include two teller windows, five officers, a conference room, ATM room and waiting area.
The company’s building permit was issued by the city issued on Jan. 23, Laff said.
Kelly asked for council support to direct staff to prepare an ordinance “amending the city’s zoning code to incorporate retail banks into the definition of financial institution within the downtown zoning district in order to prohibit retail banks from locating on the first floor” unless granted a variance. All council members present raised their hands in support of the proposal.
“We’ve got other prime corners in the downtown that may redevelop one day,” Kelly said, “and I think we wouldn’t want to see another situation like what we had here.”
Per council’s direction, staff will move forward with drafting a code amendment, Laff said. The amendment will first go to the Planning and Zoning Commission before moving on to council for a final vote.
