CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Direct staff to proceed with the Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel application to receive comprehensive and strategic advice for the 5th Avenue Study Area
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Allison Laff, AICP, Deputy Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
Not required.
BACKGROUND:
Under new business at the July 16, 2024 meeting, City Council requested that staff prepare a report regarding the 5th Avenue Study Area, including background and lessons learned from the prior work undertaken in this area, best uses for the property moving forward, a review of financial and legal structures pertaining to a redevelopment project, and a roadmap for future project work.
Provided below is a brief overview of the formal studies undertaken in the 5th Avenue Study Area.
2009 5th Avenue Study
Following a 2.5-year public process, the City Council adopted the 5th Avenue Study on December 1, 2009. This plan included recommendations for future land use, commuter parking and multi-modal improvements in the vicinity of the Naperville Metra Station. While the adopted plan offered several transportation-related recommendations that impacted city-owned or leased property, it did not provide significant land use recommendations for the majority of these parcels (see attached future land use excerpt).
2017-2020 5th Avenue RFQ
In 2017, economic conditions, market trends, and City principles had changed substantially since 2009 which led to the City Council’s endorsement of the issuance of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to consider developer recommendations for the 5th Avenue Study Area (see study map attached).
While the RFQ process originally envisioned the engagement of multiple developers, the selection committee recommended moving forward with only Ryan Companies as they were the most qualified submitter. On October 3, 2017, City Council approved a motion to engage and authorize Ryan Companies to conduct community engagement and market research to determine feasible and beneficial options for redevelopment along the 5th Avenue corridor for the purpose of presenting a concept plan for redevelopment of the 5th Avenue area to City Council for its consideration.
For a three-year period following City Council’s recommendation, Ryan Companies and City staff facilitated significant input and feedback from City Council, residents and community stakeholders through a variety of methods, including surveys, interviews, public open houses, City Council workshops, and numerous stakeholder; working group; and steering committee meetings. While many iterations of a redevelopment plan were presented during this period, the following actions occurred in the final year of the project’s review:
October 1, 2019 Concept - Ryan introduced the Well Community approach and included more green spaces than prior proposals, as well as changes to the mix of uses and design. This concept was denied by the City Council (3-6). On November 5, 2019, the City Council directed the matter to return to a March City Council workshop for further discussion.
January 30, 2020 Revised Concept - Prior to scheduling a workshop, then Mayor Chirico and Councilman Kelly collaborated with Ryan Companies to create a revised concept representing a compromise among the divided opinions of the City Council and the community (see attached concept plans). The revised plan included reduced building heights, a new park space, and relocation of uses within the plan area to address community concerns related to traffic, parking, height, density, pedestrian safety and green space amenities.
The revised concept was reviewed by the 5th Avenue Steering Committee on February 15, 2020 and received mixed reactions. Ultimately, the steering committee did not endorse the revised concept.
March 2, 2020 City Council Workshop - At the February 20, 2020 City Council meeting, it was announced that the workshop scheduled for March would be delayed in order to provide Ryan Companies with additional time to evaluate the proposed redevelopment plan. Efforts were underway to schedule an April 2020 City Council workshop when City operations were impacted by the pandemic.
May 5, 2020 and June 2, 2020 City Council Meetings - At the May 5, 2020 City Council meeting, Council directed staff to prepare a report in regards to a potential ballot referendum to seek public input on the future of the 5th Avenue project. At the June 2, 2020 City Council meeting where the referendum was discussed, City Council directed staff to propose a workshop date to discuss the January 30, 2020 compromise plan and a financial analysis in order for Council to give direction on the development.
August 7, 2020 Project Update to City Website - Following informal discussions with the City Council, staff posted an update to the City’s 5th Avenue webpage noting that the work on the project was going to cease for the foreseeable future due to uncertainty resulting from the pandemic, namely related to commuter parking needs. Staff noted that future work on the 5th Avenue Study would be evaluated as part of the strategic planning process.
Lessons Learned
Beyond the impacts of the pandemic and the commuter parking unknowns, staff believes that several factors contributed to the lack of success in finalizing redevelopment plans for the 5th Avenue Study Area in 2020, including:
• Neighboring property owner expectations for low-intensity redevelopment of the area based on the 2009 5th Avenue Study
• Lack of public trust in an RFQ process that resulted in the selection of a single consultant
• Lack of public trust in the land use survey conducted by Ryan Companies
• Lack of established City goals for the redevelopment area coupled with competing stakeholder interests. This led to continuous plan modifications to address all concerns raised with no clear consensus of the desired end result
• Desire to develop a plan that all parties would like and support
• Desire for extensive public improvements (stormwater, parking decks, additional parks) with no clear revenue source and limited public interest in donating the land to a private developer in order to achieve these improvements
• Requirement to obtain an extraordinary vote (7 positive Council votes) to sell or lease city-owned surface lots required for the development making it challenging to reach broad consensus
• Preference to cite a new parking deck on property currently leased by the DuPage Children’s Museum through 2081. The proposed location prompted significant design and cost impacts
DISCUSSION:
Moving Forward
Given the history of discussions in the 5th Avenue Study Area, as well as the lessons learned, staff believes that it may be appropriate to utilize a different approach to determine the best uses for the study area, as well as the optimal financial/legal structures for a redevelopment project.
Staff recently became aware of the Urban Land Institute’s Technical Assistance Services (ULI TAP). Per their website, “ULI is the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world… The Urban Land Institute has a long history of providing unbiased, practical ideas and best practices on land use and sustainable development”.
Through the ULI TAP, selected communities can obtain comprehensive and strategic advice in response to a specific land use or development assignment.
ULI’s TAP includes:
• Two-day commitment with extensive research and in-depth analysis (see attached agenda)
• 10-12 member expert panel (note: panelists will not be Naperville based)
• Confidential stakeholder interviews
• Public Presentation
• A full-color, printed report that assembles practical, implementable recommendations to the sponsor and the local community.
City staff discussed details of the TAP with ULI staff members in August 2024 to learn more about the program. The following additional details were gathered:
• The City would prepare and submit a TAP application (see attached).
o The application would include a one to two-page description of the study area, including previous development efforts and current/future plans.
o The City will need to identify three to four well-defined questions for the panel to respond to during the two-day workshop.
o A letter of municipal support is required to be submitted with the application.
• If selected:
o The City is required to pay a $25,000 matching fee.
o The project could kick-off as early as 1st quarter 2025.
o Following project initiation, City staff would be required to prepare all background material requested by ULI over a 3-6 month period and secure meeting space for the two-day workshop (see attached sponsor responsibilities).
o Depending on timing of the application/kick-off, the workshop could be held in June-July 2025 with the final report available end of summer 2025.
Two sample ULI TAP reports have been attached for reference. It should be noted that City receipt of a ULI TAP report would be the first step in pursuing a redevelopment project for this area. Following the report, additional work, such as issuance of an RFP/RFQ to identify a developer to implement the plan, would begin. The report would not represent any final action pertaining to the study area.
Next Steps
If the Council agrees that the ULI TAP should be pursued, staff will proceed with the ULI TAP application. The vote on September 17 will serve as the documented leadership support required by the application.
Within the next few weeks, staff will return with an agenda item for Council to discuss and agree upon 3 or 4 questions that the expert panel should answer through the ULI TAP workshop/report.
Questions may include items such as:
• “What is the highest and best use of the study area?” or
• “What are the recommended best practices for developing around transit centers?”
FISCAL IMPACT:
The City’s required contribution to the ULI Tap would be $25,000