Riverwalk section to get $1.3M facelift

A portion of the original Riverwalk is showing its age, so Naperville will move ahead with a $1.3 million renovation over the next two years.

Naperville City Council members voted 8-1 to shift the funds to the renovation from a less-expensive Riverwalk project, the $950,000 Riverfront Plaza. Councilman Dick Furstenau voted no, saying now is not the time to spend this amount of money. Councilman Kenn Miller was among those voting yes.

"This is our responsibility, and just like a road that is deteriorating needs to be repaired or replaced, we need to fix this wall on the river so it doesn't cause more problems," Miller said.

The city will repair a portion of the Riverwalk that is 28 years old. In 2005, a study was done on the stability of the bulkhead wall along the original two-block section of the Riverwalk. The study found the wall along the river between Main and Eagle streets in "fair to very poor condition."

Crews rebuilt the bulkhead wall from Eagle Street to Webster Street in 2008. The bulkhead wall between Webster and Main streets was scheduled for construction this year, and the city got a DuPage County stormwater permit for the project.

That segment was put on hold when a private developer came forward for the Riverfront Plaza on the south side of the DuPage River east of Washington Street.

The developer proposed to redevelop the vacant building at 420 and 436 S. Washington St. while the city developed the adjacent shoreline as part of the Riverwalk. The City Council approved those plans nearly a year ago.

The city is still engineering and designing the Riverfront Plaza. But the developer is unable to commit to construction now or in the near future due to the economic climate, according to Riverwalk Administrator Jan Erickson.

Councilman Grant Wehrli said he supported going ahead with the original renovation project because the city already has a stormwater permit. The bulkhead renovation project also would fix part of the Riverwalk that is too steep to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

Councilman Bob Fieseler suggested the Riverwalk is worth the investment.

"Even though, yes, we are in tough economic times, I think we all appreciate the Riverwalk being such a vital part of our community and such a vital part of downtown," he said.