An Ohio-based company that wants bring an upscale Heinen’s Grocery Store to former Butera Market location in east Naperville will work with the city on the possible creation of a business district to fund infrastructure improvements.
The Naperville City Council voted 8-1 this week to authorize staff to assist the company in determining if the site is eligible for a business district designation, which would allow a 1% tax to be added to sales made by Eagle Crest Plaza businesses at the Chicago Avenue and Olesen Drive location.
Bill Novack, director of Naperville’s Transportation, Engineering and Development department, said the accepted practice in the early 1970s, when Eagle Crest was built, was to allow water to accumulate in parking lots during storms.
As a result, water from the entire 7.3-acre site and portions of the park land behind it drain into a single 8-inch diameter pipe, which causes frequent and somewhat deep flooding of the parking lot in front of the stores, he said.
Were Heinen’s — a family-owned regional supermarket chain with Illinois stores in Bannockburn, Barrington and Glenview — to purchase the property, it would spend an estimated $2 million to raise the lot and provide stormwater storage beneath it, Novack said.
While inadequate infrastructure may not qualify as blight within the state’s definition governing business districts, Heinen’s has hired Kane McKenna and Associates to assess whether it meets qualifications, Novack said. The firm specializes in municipal economic development and public finance and will be able to provide the city with data and a plan regarding the eligibility, he said.
Mayor Steve Chirico said Tuesday’s vote allows staff to lay the groundwork to determine if the property qualifies as a business district so the city to assess an additional tax for the improvements needed.
However, that does not obligate the city to establish a business district at the site or to pay for any developer expenses, Novack stressed.
If the site qualifies and it is in the best interest of the city to assist with its revitalization, a hearing would be held and a council vote required, he said.
The district would encompass all the strip mall businesses, which include a travel agency, insurance office, martial arts studio, and barbecue and Mexican restaurants, Novack said. It would not include the out-lot drive-up bank property at the corner.
Councilwoman Jennifer Bruzan Taylor voted against the request, saying she would not support the creation of a new business district.
“Right now we’re dealing with an era of 9% inflation, and it’s impacting people’s ability to buy groceries,” Bruzan Taylor said. To add another tax, no matter how small, “to me personally seems unconscionable,” she said.
It’s a private property issue, and the repair costs should be handled through the sale of the property, she said.
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