Construction crews are in the midst of tearing down a number of buildings east of Route 59 to make way for a new shopping and entertainment district, collectively called “Block 59.”
Surrounding this central heartbeat are plans for local and national retailers and restaurants, which include The Cheesecake Factory, Shake Shack, and Stan’s Donuts to name a few.
“It’s the main on main intersection… there was demand for restaurants and entertainment,” said Brad Ratajczak.
Brad Ratajczak is a senior leasing representative with Brixmor Property Group, the real estate investment group that owns all the land for the project.
Work begins 18 months after city council approval
The Naperville City Council approved the Block 59 project back in January 2023. Construction involves replacing many of the existing properties, which he said at the time were 57% vacant.
Now some 18 months later, work is just getting started to revamp the area.
“This has taken a long time to get to this point,” said Andy Balzer, Director of Redevelopment for Brixmor Property Group. “Demo started here a few weeks ago. We really start to expect to make a lot of progress here in the next couple of months.”
The property to be renovated includes Westridge Court, Heritage Square Shopping Centers, and Hollywood Palms Cinema.
“It’s 220,000 square feet of old traditional retail space that we’re converting,” Balzer said.
“An alternative to downtown Naperville”
Once many of the existing buildings have been removed, work to reconfigure the site to create a public green space will begin.
The overarching goal of Block 59? To be quote, “an alternative to downtown Naperville.”
“It’s no surprise that Naperville is, a place that they want to be,” said Ratajczak. “It’s a place that a lot of retailers and restaurants want to be. The demand is phenomenal, it’s an affluent community, it’s a diverse community. Getting tenants to come here, once we decided to create an environment for them at this location, it was very easy.”
Ratajczak hopes to see many of these new businesses – as part of Block 59 – open by summer or fall of 2025.
“I’m extremely proud to be a part of this project and leave, leave a product that will be here for decades to come,” Ratajczak said.
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