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$200 million Naperville gateway development ready for review

Developers of a proposed $200 million art-inspired destination in northwest Naperville are looking past the dreary days of the COVID-19 pandemic to the brighter future of their project's long-term promise.

Inter-Continental Real Estate and Development decided not to let COVID-19 delay its plans to turn a grassy quadrant at the I-88 and Route 59 interchange into a "live, work, play, stay" destination with art at the center.

The company announced Wednesday it has submitted plans to the city for review of CityGate West, which is imagined as a mixed-use center with residential, office, retail, commercial, hospitality, entertainment and recreation components. Plans also call for an enhanced connection to the Illinois Prairie Path, a center for art shows, concerts and festivals, and a pedestrian bridge over Route 59.

"When we overcome the economic and public health crises that confront us today," Inter-Continental President Aristotle Halikias said in a news release, "CityGate West will be a safe, arts-focused community with access to sustainable open spaces that regenerates and revitalizes the economy in Naperville and DuPage County."

Included in the plans are 410 residential units, 170,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and medical office space and 208 rooms at two hotels.

Developers estimate the project will generate roughly 790 construction jobs during build out and, once complete, support 780 full-time jobs. The entire development process could take up to a decade.

Allison Laff, deputy director of transportation, engineering and development, said the planning and zoning commission could discuss the project Aug. 19. The property is zoned for industrial use and would need a change to allow for its residential, hotel and commercial components.

Art, including sculptures and digital art walls, would be curated by Century Walk Corp., a Naperville nonprofit that has placed public art at 50 locations throughout the city.

The development would leave in place the Topgolf and WhirlyBall game centers and find an "adaptive reuse" as an entertainment center for the dormant Odyssey Fun World building.

CityGate West, in conjunction with the original CityGate Centre on the east side of Route 59, aims to be a gateway into Naperville, Halikias said. Inter-Continental and Calamos Property Holdings, the owner of CityGate Centre, have formed a joint marketing agreement under which the two properties will coordinate signage and work together to construct a pedestrian bridge over Route 59.

Inter-Continental commissioned an economic analysis by Teska Associates, Inc., that found CityGate West - once fully developed - could generate roughly $2.3 million in property tax revenue each year for the 10 taxing districts in which its property is located. The revenue would be an increase from the $153,800 generated in 2018 by the properties as they stand now.

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