North Central College has proposed building a gateway sign on Washington Street to give its Naperville campus higher visibility in downtown Naperville.
Kathleen West, an attorney representing the college, told the Planning and Zoning Commission this week the college bought the property near Washington and Aurora Avenue, south of the DuPage River and north of the Burger King restaurant, in 2012. It worked with the city to raze the existing building there and remediate the land for use as a future park.
Now college officials would like permission to erect an arched gateway sign that would sit atop columns similar to those found throughout the campus, West said.
The gateway would identify the college, create an entrance to the college’s campus and fulfill the college’s desire to establish visibility on Washington Street, the main thoroughfare through Naperville’s downtown district, she said.
North Central is unusual because it’s located in a residential neighborhood and lacks a high-profile presence on a major road, she said.
“The college acquired this property in part to establish visibility along Washington Street. The proposed sign will establish the necessary visibility,” West said at the meeting.
Construction of the park and gateway sign would not start until after the Washington Street Bridge reconstruction work is finished, she said.
“Right now the city and the college are continuing to work on the design of the park,” West said.
Because the gateway sign is considered an accessory structure to the park under Naperville municipal code, it needs a variance, which received the commission’s endorsement Wednesday. Final approval rests with the Naperville City Council.
West said the college needs to know if it can incorporate the gateway into the park plans. “If not, then the college will need to assess its plans for this property,” she said.
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The college also is working on an agreement with the city through which the proposed park land will be used as a staging area during the bridge construction, which is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete.
In addition the park/gateway endorsement, the commission also recommended council approval for the rezoning North Central needs for its property at 5 S. Loomis St. If approved, it will change from single-family residential to college/university.
The college purchased the home in 2021 and the residents moved out last fall. Its interior has been modified to accommodate North Central’s Shimer Great Books School and its graduate school offices.
West said there are no plans to change the building’s exterior other than to hang identification signs.
The house is included in the city/college’s master plan as are eight other homes, West said. So far, the college has purchased six of the eight and 5 S. Loomis St. is the only one not yet rezoned for college/university use.