The Naperville City Council Tuesday was presented with three options for building a parking deck in the downtown adjacent to the Nichols Library, but appeared split on an additional option to expand the library, a decision that would dictate the size of the parking structure.
The council tabled the matter for two weeks.
One construction option for the parking deck, to be located on the library’s current parking lot, calls for simultaneously building a five-story parking deck and a 30,000-square-foot library addition. A second option would be to build the parking deck now and expand the library later. A third option would be to build only the parking deck and not expand the library.
If the council endorses the first option, the designs show a parking deck with one level underground, four stories above ground and 480 parking spaces at a cost of $13.8 million for the parking deck. Also shown is an open plaza area on the northeast corner.
If the council opts to expand the library at a later date, designs for the parking deck show 443 spaces on five stories and a plaza on the northeast corner at a cost of $12.7 million. If the council rejects the library expansion, plans show a slightly larger deck with 522 parking spaces at a cost of $14.5 million.
Residents living near the proposed site spoke out against the five-story deck, saying it was too massive.
“You will dwarf the library and cut out sunlight in the area,” said Susan McNeal-Bulak, who urged the council to limit the deck to four stories. “You are proposing a garage in a neighborhood. This is not a commercial area.”
Many residents, however, supported the library expansion. In the end, the council was divided on the issue. Several council members suggested that the money would be better spent building a fourth library on the city’s north side.
Others said it was more fiscally responsible to expand the Nichols site.
Library Director Donna Dziedzic said expanding Nichols makes “good public-service and economic sense now.”
She said that the community is outgrowing the existing Nichols facility, citing needs for a larger children’s programming room; more seating for kids, teens and adults; additional space for materials; larger community rooms; and an expanded adult and teen computer lab.
Once a decision is made, construction on the parking deck will begin next fall.