Hubble Hearing: Wheaton Council to Discuss Sidewalks, Road Improvements and Lighting

Wheaton city officials will meet for a second public hearing tonight to review staff recommendations for the planned unit development (PUD) of the old Hubble school site, where developer Bradford Equities, LLC .

Of 17 conditions staff recommended as changes to the PUD before the first, , three remain as discussion, or "policy questions" for City Council. They include: construction of public sidewalks, road improvements and decorative street lighting, according to a city memo.

According to the Feb. 22 memo, council will address the following issues:

1. The applicant (Bradford) shall construct a public sidewalk along the north side of the grocery store private roadway between Naperville Road and Main Street, and repair any identified sidewalk defects.

Assuming the sidewalk is concrete and provides access from Main Street to the grocery store and gyms, staff is supportive of Bradford's and the park district's plan to incorporate traffic control and sidewalks along certain parts of the road. City staff estimates the cost for public sidewalk repairs surrounding the entire site to be about $50,000.

2. Bradford shall construct improvements to provide a second left-turn lane for north bound Naperville Road at Roosevelt Road and a right-turn lane for west bound Roosevelt Road at Naperville Road, including necessary signal changes.  

The developer plans to meet with IDOT officials and will discuss the proposed improvements. Staff recommends the developer, at a minimum, widen west bound lanes on Roosevelt Road.

3. Bradford shall add city decorative street lighting along Naperville Road from Roosevelt Road to Indiana Street and lighting along the private roadway.

Staff estimates the cost for lighting to be about $100,000.

Staff also has concerns about the parking spaces provided for Mariano's and the park district's uses, according to the memo.

The public hearing is 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27 at .

Confused? Here's what's happening:

Bradford Equities, LLC is buying the old Hubble school site from Community Unit School District 200 and plans to redevelop the site to bring a Mariano's Fresh Market to the corner of Roosevelt and Naperville Roads. of $5,000,200 in June.

The Wheaton Park District is also in on the deal, with plans to buy part of the school building from Bradford (for $3 million), to hang on to the three gyms it uses for athletics year-round. Bradford will also donate a parcel of open space for athletic fields to the park district. The two will also swap Bradford's open space at the corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Road for the park district's Central Park property.

Bradford and the park district presented plans for the site to City Council Feb. 13, seeking approval of a planned unit development (PUD) to allow Bradford to move forward with the deal. However the hearing was continued to Feb. 27 to address city staff's .

Want more? Below is a list of recent Patch coverage related to Hubble:

Editor's note: Due to the popularity of the real-time coverage provided at the first hearing, Patch will provide live coverage of tonight's hearing. Questions? Email Charlotte@Patch.com.