Business continues in downtown Naperville even as major renovations get underway
NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Drivers in downtown Naperville may need to navigate around street and lane closures on Main Street and Jefferson Avenue due to construction, but the Downtown Naperville Alliance (DNA) wants you to know the businesses along that stretch are still open and pedestrians are still welcome.
The DNA has even erected clear acrylic panels where people can watch the construction without the dirt and dust flying their way.
They said they were surprised at how many families were stopping so their children could take in the tractor action.
"We didn't really realize how many families ... we're going to come down and bring their little kids to see the trucks and construction workers at work -and so we installed these acrylic signs to give kind of a safe space for families to stand behind," said Danielle Tufano, DNA executive director.
When this streetscape is finally complete by Labor Day, Tufano said there will be $4.9 million in improvements.
"It's a beautification project, so in the end we're going to have wider sidewalks, beautiful new planters with seats installed with them, new LED light fixtures in our downtown but also they got underground where we have a 100-year-old water main that needed repairs," Tufano said.
Naperville resident Kelly Baker said she is encouraged by the improvements.
" I am a Naperville resident and I think at the end of things it's going to work out really well. It's going to be beautiful I think it's going to be beautiful," Bake said.
Baker said she's somewhat annoyed at the difficulty getting past the construction and into Starbucks but called it a "little life problem ".
Amy Sandack, who works in a Kitchen and bath showroom said the construction has not been detrimental to business.
"We don't have a ton of walk-ins so for us it's really not affecting us as much," Sandack said. "Although we have to go around the block every time we want to park so that becomes a little bit of a pain but other than that for downtown it should be a really good improvement. I just feel more sorry for the restaurants that have more foot traffic than we do."
Tufano said all businesses will remain open until the project is due to be complete by Labor Day.