Naperville is known for excelling. Whether it’s in its local schools or quality of life, Illinois’ third largest city often finds itself serving as a model for other cities.
But when it comes to preserving its historic buildings, the city lags behind peer communities and should dedicate more resources to preserving its structures, according to a report issued by Naperville Preservation Inc.
The nonprofit, which spent about a year putting together the analysis, created its own preservation plan after being told repeatedly that the city does not have enough staff to focus on the subject. Members have been told by city staff that historic preservation appears to be a low priority for the Naperville City Council.
“We wanted to prove the point that other communities have done more on historic preservation, and to help people understand that it is possible to have viable economic development while also doing historic preservation,” said Joe McElroy, a Preservation Inc. board member and the study’s lead author.
Amid discussions on affordable housing, rapid economic growth and the city’s upcoming bicentennial celebration, the group hopes attention can be paid to ensuring some of the city’s older buildings are protected, he said.
“Done right, preservation is an economic development incentive. The classic example of that is Old Nichols Library,” McElroy said, referring to the 129-year-old building that currently houses Italian restaurant Gia Mia and was once slated for demolition. “(Preservation) makes sense economically and it enhances the quality of life for the residents of the city.”
The study, called “Progress Through Preservation,” compared Naperville to 29 peer communities and found the city had one of the lowest number of landmarked buildings.
Currently, there are six. Neighboring Aurora has 58, Downers Grove has 33 and Elgin has 22 buildings and one golf course with landmark status. Evanston had the highest number, with more than 850 registered individual local landmarks, 430 of which are located outside of a designated city historic district.
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The study additionally found that Naperville has one local historic district and an overlapping National Register of Historic Places District. It does not have any thematic historic districts, which group historic buildings in separate locations that share common architectural characteristics.
Typically, a property within a locally designated historic district must follow certain preservation style guidelines to comply with neighborhood character. A National Register District is a federal designation that identifies historically significant areas in the country but does not govern how buildings in the district should look.
Compared to Naperville’s one historic district, Aurora has has four, Elgin has four and one thematic district and Joliet has three local historic districts and four thematic districts.
“People in Naperville value the past, value the built environment, but there are a lot of ways that the built environment can be protected that have not been done in Naperville,” McElroy said.
One of the biggest barriers, the study found, was a lack of incentives for protecting and restoring older buildings. While Naperville’s local historic district has regulations for altering buildings, there is often little rehabilitation of such buildings, the study said.
Neighboring communities, by contrast, usually have some sort of local financial incentive program to encourage historic preservation.
For example, Hinsdale recently established a Historically Significant Structures Property List. Any buildings on that list are eligible for matching grants, zoning bonuses, permit fee waivers and property tax rebates for exterior improvements, the study said. St. Charles also offers financial incentives to encourage historic preservation, including a Facade Improvement Grant Program.
Incentives do not always have to be financial, McElroy said. Even having some sort of award to recognize outstanding preservation work can be helpful.
“Many cities, every year, they will do a survey of the nicest renovation projects they have seen in the city and will do an awards program. It’s a low-cost thing. It’s just a way of honoring people who are doing a good job,” McElroy said.
Another major barrier cited is a lack of city personnel dedicated to historic preservation. At the moment, the city has one assistant planner who works on preservation matters about 15% of the time whereas other communities like Elgin, Geneva and St. Charles have full-time preservation staff, the study said.
To remedy this issue, the study suggests at least one full-time city employee dedicate half of their time to creating a historic preservation program.
Other recommendations include increasing penalties for buildings that have to be demolished for neglect, revising zoning laws to encourage renovation over new construction and establishing annual workshops to teach people how to landmark their property.
The plan also suggests creating a “Hot 100” list of Naperville properties that could be eligible for financial incentives. Naperville Preservation Inc. has already identified some buildings that could be eligible, including Kreger’s Brat and Sausage House at 605 N. Ellsworth St. and the MetroWest office building at 55 Shuman Blvd., which was designed by famed German architect Helmut Jahn.
While Naperville Preservation Inc. has submitted the plan to the city, Naperville Transportation, Engineering and Development Deputy Director Allison Laff said the city does not plan to take on any of the organization’s suggestions right now because there’s not enough staff. City efforts are currently focused on doing an Interstate 88 corridor study, she said.