Plans to expand, upgrade and revamp the Naperville Riverwalk by its 50th anniversary in 2031 are moving along, a city official says.
By fall next year, Naperville could have a quarter of the planned work “under our belt,” according to Bill Novack, director of the city’s transportation, engineering and development department.
There are a total of 12 projects the city wants to tackle over the next seven years to help ring in the Riverwalk’s 50th birthday. Work is laid out in the 2031 Riverwalk Master Plan, which was endorsed in fall 2020 to guide future development. Aspirations are big and small, ranging from building out new sections of the Riverwalk to ecological restoration along its riverbank.
The multistep, multimillion-dollar initiative is split between capital and enhancement projects. There are six of each, according to the city’s master plan.
To date, one has been completed and several others are in progress. Though still years away from 2031, Novack says work is in “a good position,” especially after work done this year.
“We’ve got some very good momentum right now,” he said. “We want to continue building off that and you know, we want to build what the community wants us to get in time.”
Novack offered an outlook of where projects stand as of this week.
Eagle Street Gateway
The Naperville City Council at its Dec. 3 meeting awarded the bid for a capital project at the Riverwalk’s Eagle Street Gateway.
It calls for an upgraded gateway at Eagle Street and Jackson Avenue that would correct circulation issues the area currently faces by improving accessibility with the installation of ADA-compliant ramps between the upper and lower paths just west of Eagle Street.
The council awarded a $3.5 million contract to Naperville-based Baumgartner Construction Inc. to complete the wok. The contract includes a September 2025 completion date.
Project costs will be offset, in part, by a $900,000 grant secured by U.S. Rep Bill Foster, D-Naperville.
South Gateway
Layout and landscape designs for a south extension of the Riverwalk from Hillside Road to Martin Avenue were presented to the city’s Riverwalk Planning, Design and Construction Committee last week.
When complete, the extension will connect Edward Hospital’s campus along Martin Avenue to the existing Riverwalk through a new path and pedestrian bridge.
The city is in the final stages of design and permitting for the south extension and bids for the project could be sought by the latter half of 2025, Novack said.
In the meantime, funding for the venture is coming together. Last year, the project received $1.5 million from the state and Edward-Elmhurst Health.
South Washington Street park
Plans to install a new park at 430 S. Washington St. are on hold until the ongoing replacement of Naperville’s Washington Street Bridge is completed, Novack said.
Ultimately, the goal is to revitalize a 0.4-acre parcel next to the Burger King restaurant and turn it into both a new entrance to North Central College’s campus as well as a revamped open area for community use.
Design plans for the small park were presented to the Riverwalk, Design and Construction Committee for review in June. At the time, Novack had said he hoped plans would be finalized in time to put the project out to bid before year’s end.
Continued delays with bridge construction, however, have prolonged the effort. Design plans cannot be finalized or bids sought until that work is done, possibly in June 2025, he said.
Other capital projects
As for the remaining capital projects outlined in the 2031 master plan, work is forthcoming, Novack said.
The city is planning to add a new quarter-mile segment to the Riverwalk between Moser Bridge just east of Washington Street and Hillside Road, which will feature a separate, parallel 10-foot wide asphalt path for bicyclists. The project, though, is a “long way off,” Novack said, noting “there’s a lot of work on that.”
The master plan also calls for work on the Riverwalk block from Main Street to Washington Street. When and how this project moves forward will depend on whether the area is privately redeveloped in coming years, Novack said. When it is, the city’s Riverwalk Commission will work with property owners, developers and the city to incorporate the Riverwalk into plans.
Finally, there are plans to improve the Grand Pavilion Parking and Plaza space on the west end of the Riverwalk. Prospective improvements include expanded plaza surfaces that could accommodate things like pop-up vendor tents, a new podium for ceremonial events, a new grill station and the addition of a fireplace. Preliminary discussions over Grand Pavilion plans will start mid-2025, Novack said.
Enhancements
Enhancement projects, like their capital counterparts, are in various stages of progress.
One is already finished, Novack said. Last year, the city installed a new prairie nature garden just west of Centennial Beach, he said.
A second enhancement — riverbank ecological restoration — is ongoing, Novack said. The city is concurrently working on devising an enhanced gateway along Hillside Road as part of design plans for its south extension, Novack said.
Other standing enhancements include: the removal of overgrown and invasive vegetation from paddle boat quarry overlooks; an expansion of the existing Netzley Overlook near the RiverPlace Condos; and a new artists overlook with permanent easels along the Riverwalk’s east extension.
2031 Riverwalk Fund
Project progress aside, recent weeks have also seen a campaign to educate the community about Riverwalk upgrades take shape.
Last month, a website was launched to describe both the history of and future vision for the Riverwalk. The website is the product of the Riverwalk 2031 Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the city privately raise funding for master plan projects.
The Riverwalk 2031 Fund is an offshoot of the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation, a charitable organization established in 1997 for the promotion, education and enhancement of the Riverwalk, according to Riverwalk 2031 Fund board member Rick Hitchcock.
The Riverwalk 2031 Fund is composed of five board members — Hitchcock included — as well as a council of advisors. Together, they will be responsible for “campaigning, identifying … and soliciting donations for the fund to help support the program,” Hitchcock said.
Preliminarily, the fund is contemplating a capital campaign to raise about $6 million from the private sector for Riverwalk work, he said. The fund is just getting started and it will fully ramp up next year, he said.
