Naperville Taps Urban Land Institute for Metra Station Plan

A 14.5-acre area near Naperville’s Metra station is once again a subject of interest for redevelopment.

The city previously planned to target a large swath of blacktop parking lots for a mix of housing, office, retail and parking garages, but the effort was canned in 2020 due to the pandemic and concerns related to parking needs for commuters that use the lots to catch a train, the Daily Herald reported.

Naperville city officials tapped the Urban Land Institute Chicago to identify redevelopment opportunities for properties owned by the city, and that group of architects, real estate developers and engineers zeroed-in on the parking lots along 5th Avenue that serve the train station.

It’s realistic to consider the “tremendous potential for a mixed-use development,” in relation to the commuter train station, OKW Architects CEO Jon Talty told the outlet.

“It’s really an important node for the city,” said Talty, who also chairs the ULI panel. “That train station deserves some gravitas in terms of one getting off the train and feeling like they’ve arrived somewhere.”

Redevelopment would need to make sense for vehicular and pedestrian needs, he said. A ULI panel is expected to present recommendations to the city council next month.

The DuPage County suburb has drawn developer interest recently for data centers and single-family homes.

Karis is pitching a two-building data center complex on 40 acres at the long-vacant Alcatel‑Lucent office site near Naperville and Warrenville roads. The city council greenlit a $42,000 electric load study, funded by Karis, to help city officials decide whether to allow that development.

Pulte Homes has offered $14 million to buy a 34-acre site from the DuPage Water Commission. The property was damaged in a tornado two years ago, and the utility no longer needs it. The Miami-based homebuilder wants to build as many as 60 homes on the land.

— Eric Weilbacher