Next month, a panel of experts will gather in Naperville for two days to help decide how city-owned land around the Fifth Avenue train station north of downtown should be developed.
The Naperville City Council received an overview of the upcoming expert panel, which will be hosted by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), at its meeting Tuesday night. Council members also endorsed a list of stakeholders — from local school districts to property owners — they’d like to see involved in the process.
The panel is scheduled meet June 10-11.
Efforts to chart a new path forward for the Fifth Avenue site — just over 14.5 acres of land owned or leased by the city — have been discussed on and off for more than a decade. In recent years the city worked on a redevelopment plan with Minnesota-based Ryan Cos., which got as far as presenting a baseline concept to the city in October 2019. That proposal, though, was rejected after facing resistance from residents.
The city planned to continue working on Ryan’s proposal until the COVID-19 pandemic stalled progress and the matter was placed on the back burner.
Last summer, Councilman Josh McBroom resurrected the issue. Later in the fall, the council opted to seek outside guidance from ULI to assist in deciding in what capacity, if any, it should proceed on pursuing new projects for the site.
ULI is a “network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts,” according to the nonprofit, which has offices around the world, including in Chicago. Through the use of a “technical assistance panel,” communities can obtain comprehensive and strategic advice on a specific land use or development project.
Communities seek out panels on a rolling application basis. Naperville applied in November and in February was notified that its application had been selected, according to a city staff report.
As the panel approaches, ULI representatives Tuesday gave council members a rundown of what to expect.
The process will entail a two-day workshop, according to representatives. About 10 to 12 volunteer panelists — likely real estate industry experts from the Chicago area — will explore the matter, engage with stakeholders and ultimately provide recommendations for next steps. Panelists will not be from Naperville.
“We take a holistic approach to the process,” said Jon Talty, CEO of Chicago-based OKW Architects and a longtime ULI member who will be chairing the panel. “We bring together a variety of professionals … (including) developers, architects, civil engineers, traffic consultants, planners and a variety of engineers. And together we come up with actionable solutions to challenging pieces of real estate.”
The first day will start with a city presentation followed by a walk-through of the Fifth Avenue site, Swasti Shah, director of community engagement for ULI Chicago, told the council. Panelists will then meet with 75 to 100 stakeholders in a series of group interviews, Shah said.
The stakeholders list endorsed Tuesday is wide-ranging. Among them will be elected officials; representatives of local partners from the Naperville Park District to the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce; members of a prior Fifth Avenue Steering Committee; Metra, BNSF and PACE; and owners of properties directly abutting the study area.
The full stakeholder list can be found at https://bit.ly/3YXfHMX.
On the second day, panelists will synthesize information into recommendations that aim to answer questions the city submitted when initially applying for assistance. Those include:
- What is the most effective way to move forward with a redevelopment strategy for the nontransit uses on the site?
- Other than new housing opportunities, what are the highest and best uses of the study area, or each sub portion of the study area?
- How can new development on the site address Naperville’s known housing gaps, including missing middle, attainable and affordable housing, while meeting private development interests?
- What amenities and design features should be incorporated into the new development to maintain and enhance the neighborhood’s unique character?
- How can the study area be redeveloped to function as a transit-oriented development and what are the best practices for developing around transit centers?
Three to four weeks after the panel’s presentation, ULI will host a public presentation outlining its suggestions, Shah said. In early- to mid-fall, they will return to the city with a final report, she said.
That report “is going to be a narrative,” Talty said in a call Wednesday. “It’s going to have planning examples. It’s going to probably have aspirational imagery. It’s going to have technical data regarding some traffic issues or engineering issues. … Everybody is going to bring their own gifts to the table and contribute to a well-rounded summary of the two days.”
Talty emphasized that ULI’s input will be impartial.
“We know what it takes from a financial perspective, from a legal perspective, from a planning perspective,” he said. “I think the city can benefit from the fact that we’re an outside agent helping them navigate complex problems.”
