Should the City Council support the Omnia project?

I'm envious that the Sun apparently saw the complete presentation. I find it incomprehensible that Omnia seems intent on courting the power brokers in town but is seemingly uninterested in presenting their dream to the residents who would be their neighbors.

If they expect the city and its residents to consider this proposal they should put up a website and post their presentation. Then everyone would have a change to see and comment on it.

Making matters more complicated, the city will be starting a land use study next month of the very area that Omnia has their eyes on. The trick for the city will be to conduct the study without having this proposal suck the air out of the room.

But to the Sun's main question: "Should city council support this?"

Allow me to change the question slightly to "Does the city council support this?"

The answer is, No. They've seen the full Disneyesque presentation, with the added kicker of a the full court press from assorted experts provided to allay every concern, and yet from my conversations with council members it's clear to me there isn't one member on the city council who would vote yes for this proposal, not one.

And frankly there shouldn't be. Any one of the many financial deficiencies would on its own be fatal to this project. I'm sorry, and I wish the Omnia folks well, but $500,000 will buy a nice home in the neighborhood. Offered as a foundation on which to build a $200 million Performing Arts Center, not to mention the necessary endowment that would be needed to run it, simply isn't a realistic plan, it's a dream. And asking the city to float a $120 million TIF as a way to finance the majority of it, along with a number of other significant concessions, is just plain hubris.

Let me be the first to say that the Omnia group has ABSOLUTELY,POSITIVELY, NO CONCERN FOR THE RESIDENTS IN THE AFFECTED AREA! First they give council members "private" presentations. Then they cancel a presentation to the residents. Now they give another "private" presentation to the local paper. "We're still working on it and we think support is building as we go along," Patterson-Frier said. Patterson will get "NO" support from the residents. Everytime she and her group provide a "private" presentation to someone/group other than the people who will be most affected, she drives another nail in the Omnia Project coffin lid. The backlash that this group will receive at council from the local resedents will be tremendous. I don't know who is giving the advice on rolling out this project but they should be fired.

It is interesting to note that one of the Indiana casino's just had a grand opening for their own 2,500 seat theater that will be putting on exactly the same kind of performances. Granted, casino's really know how to market, advertise, and, in general, make money. However, no other casino in the area has a theater this size and it has yet to be proven whether this new theater will be successful. What we don't know is whether this theater was just intended to be a "loss leader"; i.e. an investment made by the casino designed to just pull more people in to gamble and make up any loss on the back end?

What happens to Onmia's business model if other casino's start building their own theaters to compete amongst each other? How many mega theaters can our metropolitan area support before the market is saturated?

In the initial stages of any proposal everyone looks at what it will take to make it work, what it will cost, how it will be financed, etc. There are dozens of unanswered questions just about the economics of this proposal even when considering the positives and that it will be successful.

On the other hand, not one word has been spoken about what happens if this proposal should fail. What happens if the developers run out of money before it is finished? Who will take over and finish it? The city?

But what happens if it gets built and operates for a while and fails to draw the crowds that are currently being predicted and goes defunct? What happens then? Who owns the structures? Who will operate and maintain a vacant building? Who is going to pay off the $200 million dollar loan? What happens to all of the tax abatements?

I'm willing to bet the way this deal is being structured that it is going to be the Naperville taxpayer. If that happens it will make what we spent bailing out the carillon look like chump change.

There is a very, very long road ahead for Omnia to attempt to gain enough support from each of the stakeholders who have a vested interest in the many, many issues related to this proposal.

To answer the question asked by the Naperville Sun... Should the City Council support Omnia? In my opinion the city council should support Omnia when, and only when, there is a clear and compelling majority of Naperville voters who support this proposal.

As a neighbor of the 5th avenue area, and actually having been a homeowner in the vicinity for 27 years (15 years in Thom Higgins' Park Addition and 12 years in the Pilgrim Addition), I have a viewpoint on this issue with a bit of experience behind me. Reading the article in the Sun this morning brought a number of thoughts to mind, particularly with regard to comments by Omnia representatives. Regarding the traffic impact, architect Coffey "..argues that since the shows will take place at nights and on weekends, traffic should not worsen." I have to agree with him, in the sense that during these times, it would be difficult for traffic to even GET worse. Traffic in this area, as the residents know, is at or close to saturation now. In fact, what the Omnia study does not seem address is what the area actually would NEED for significant development like to to occur. Second, Coffey says "We want to partner with the city." Well, just so the Omnia group understands, the city consists of the residents of Naperville, and not the City Council and city staff who are the appointed and hired officials and experts who presumably are the representatives of the "city," and not the city itself. The Omnia failure to engage the citizens most directly affected by this proposed project and apparently consider the city hall officials as the only constituency, while at the same time the nearby residents are vocally expressing major concern over both the lack of information on this project, the method in which it is being conducted, and the lack of respect being shown them, shows something - whether naivety, arrogance, or something - but not a proper way of conducting this sort of program.

What the TRUE city of Naperville needs to be aware of and on guard for are half-truths, loop-hole utilization, and fact-spinning to promote agendas that benefit individuals or small groups. Also, an observation for Omnia - when people affected by proposals such as this perceive that they are being ignored, steamrollered, or abused, there is most certainly going to be a negative backlash and the affected people are going to be prone to assuming the worst. Frankly, there are individual elements of this proposal that area residents will probably agree with (and also, some that people are going to oppose to the end!). Working behind the backs of the residents, treating them as if they are the "quaint but naive villagers who don't understand," is not going to work.

You live next to a train station. In the current state of the economy you have the hottest properties on the market. If they throw in some mixed use retail with this development, your property rates are only going to go up. Get a clue.

And the affected residents that are going to come out in full force against this? What, a couple hundred. I imagine the other 140,000 in Naperville would love to see this development. Apparently a unsighlty apsphalt plant is more desirable that a performing arts center. Or is it that fact that you dont want any undersirables in your neighborhood that the high density housing might bring.

Get a clue.

Well, I guess, like Thom Higgins, my comments are going to be misinterpreted by people like Nimby, who do not reveal themselves, and quite possibly are parties with vested interest in this project moving forward as proposed. My point is that the area residents are in favor of a redevelopment plan for the area that includes ALL affected parties and is not driven by secrecy and innuendo. It is interesting that people who seem to be in favor of this plan and comment on this blog, do NOT reveal themselves.

I would love to hear about the contingency plans if this Goliath didn't make the money that Omnia projects. I wonder if we are putting the cart before the horse here. The Fifth Avenue Study hasn't even been completed yet. I would really like to see what other alternatives there are for this area.

To "NIMBY?" you can count me among the other 140,000 in Naperville (as I don't live in the affected area) and I do not support this propsal. I don't think a development of this size/venue type is a good fit for this neighborhood. And, quite frankly, I don't think Napervillians are chomping at the bit to go to the theater.

What have our recent economic times done to theater going in general? Anyone?

No! As someone once mentioned in a Sun blog, "this will turn into a property tax increase similiar to the bell tower fiasco". I live 2 miles from the site and this will not affect me otherwise but I do have sympathy for the neighbors who do not like this idea. If I have learned one thing it's that projects like this are fueled by the incentive for the developers to make a profit. Anythings else they say is only an attempt to hide this fact. Naperville does not have the tax base for something of this magnitude and we should shelf this plan at least until better economic times.

Don't we have a fine arts center/theater being built in our downtown area? Why do we need another $200 million dollar theater?

I love Naperville, but all I see lately is increased taxes, loss of business in the downtown area, empty office buildings, homes in forclosure.

Can I ask what Omnia is thinking, when we are in such difficult economic times?

This is the wrong proposal, at the wrong time, at the wrong location, and for the wrong reasons.

The city of Naperville has no business getting involved with owning or operating anything like what is being proposed.

If Omnia wants to incorporate as either a for profit or non profit organization and take full responsibility and ownership, raise the capital, etc, etc. then, in principal, I would not be terribly opposed to this proposal in the most general of terms. However, even if private money would be footing the entire bill for such a proposal the impact upon the neighbors and neighborhood, the area roadways, the train commuters has not, in my opinion, been adequately studied by an independently expert without a vested interest in this proposal at this location.

Frankly, the whole concept of creating a TIF district seems absurd to me. And that is on top of the other TIF downtown which is a total abuse of the intent of the law to create such districts. These districts were intended to revitalize blighted areas. Neither of these areas is even close to what a reasonable person would call blighted. The underlying property, even without redevelopment, is in demand and valuable. The architects, developers, and contractors of both TIF districts stand to earn a small fortune from their work. At the same time the potential exists to add hundreds of high end, expensive housing units. We can fully expect the developers to demand fair market value for this housing. How many of the families that purchase these housing units will have children is unknown and anyones guess; so the impact on our school system is unknown.

Yet some damn fools at city hall thinks it is a good idea to give away a 23 year tax abatement on all this brand new, prime real estate. It's just the rest of us patsies that live anywhere else in town who will have to continue to pay our full, fair share of taxes. Think about that next week when you pay the second installment of your real estate taxes. Remember and consider that come next election too.

I do not think the way OMNIA is proceeding with this project is in the interest of the residents immediately affected by this project in the Fifth Avenue area. Traffic will most definitely WORSEN if this project is approved, however the capacity for parking at the METRA station and the surrounding area, must improve BEFORE this project comes to complete fruition. However, that aside, this area is in sore need of development, although I am not sure a 2,300 seat theater is the correct avenue of development. Look at the condos on the south side of the train tracks in Clarendon Hills. They are tastefully done condos with residences from the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Something like that will make a good fit in the Fifth Avenue area, and some retail would be a good addition too, however not without a MAJOR addition of some parking garages. The full thought and care must also be given to the residents in the area and how to offset negative impacts that they will experience. In short, the Fifth Avenue area is and will be developed, however I am not sure that there is a real need or desire for a major performing arts center in DuPage County (we already have Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace and the Paramount in Aurora do we not?). The condos are a welcome addition and we have to be honest that the only way development of this scale in Naperville can continue is to build UP! Omnia must hovever take more public interest in the entirety of Naperville and not just the City Council! As I have said before this project is a ways away from the City Council's agenda, so we as a city have time to voice our concerns before then and when the time arises at the Plan Commission and Council.

"We want to partner with the city," Coffey said.

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Here is the catch in this project!

Partnering with the city is a CODE word that means if this project fails the city pays the price.

If this "non profit" project succeeds the people in charge pay themselves millions of dollars in salaries without taking ANY risk. By being "non-profit" they avoid the majority of taxes just as Edward's Hospital does! How many executives and doctors at Edward's make over a million under the decoy of non-profit....at least a dozen led by Pamela Meyer Davis!

This TIF break for 26 years sounds ridiculous! How can this project generate revenue for this generation of taxpayers if it can avoid almost all taxes for that very long period of time!

Having 16 homes as part of this project is borderline insane. Even townhomes is borderline insane. The high rises on this expensive land near the train station may make some sense.

Having 3 Performing Art or Theater Centers is borderline insane. The midsize one would directly compete with NCC which is brand new and only blocks away. City money should not be used to compete with a private college in town....how shameful and disgusing to put NCC in such a position. The smaller one could pose some serious competitive pressures with the high school theaters in town. Oswego East High School has been very successful packing its new state of the art 700 seat performing arts center to packed houses weekend after weekend.

The only one that makes sense is the 2700 seat Performing Center as it will have no competition and can attract more expensive venues that draw larger crowds from a 30 mile radius!

Who is going to pay 30 million for the Public Works land? It is not that large of a parcel. I would put the price at less than 3-5 million at the most. Bev in her "infinite wisdom" is just shooting numbers off the top of her head. She is paying "professionals" to get the numbers she wants to present to the city. Paid professionals will write you anything if you write them a check!

If someone is going to build this "for profit" project they need to pay taxes in full. The city should not be suckered into partnerning(guaranting the losses on this project) with Omnia. If Omnia is so confident why do they need FDIC Insurance from the City of Naperville Treasury? Apparently they are not CONFIDENT but blowing hot air at us.

The city of Naperville needs to deal with its 53 million shortfall for police and fire pensions. Chicago is dealing with their crisis!The solution in Chicago is NOT to increase next years taxes to the residents. That is the easy way out and is unfair to the taxpayers. The solution is to abolish pension immediately. The solution is to limit contribution to 10% as nearby Aurora does. They own two floating casinos that are cash cows and they watch their expenses.
How come we in Naperville just keep TAXING, TAXING and TAXING?

Where is the Napergate Man these days to tell us what is going on in this town? Why does the Naperville Sun not continue the Napergate Series of ads and be a watchdog on the city of Naperville?
It is time for the Naperville Sun to step it up!

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Host Ted,

Where are you? In the past you made promises or at least suggestions to jump on the bus at some point and to help control corruption in town. It has been nearly 1.5 years since your statement and we have seen no bus, no one jumping on the bus, and driver Ted has been MIA. Where is the leadership, Host Ted?

It seems with the departure of Pushlisher/Editor Jim Lynch and the loss of the Napergatians from this blog site, the momentum has been lost to take on City Hall! It seems to me at some point the Napergatians realized this blog site was all TALK with no ACTION ever resulting.

It was apparent that the Sun proved its MIGHTY POWER when it called for the resignation of the NCHS principal. I would like to see the Naperville Sun show some power once in a while against City Hall and those who are trying to use City Hall for personal profit without taxation. PROFIT must be TAXED! No circumvention should be allowed such as taking the profit in large salaries before it hits the bottom line of a bogus financial statement. As residents we need to stand up and let our city officials and their friends know that we understand the game they're playing...and that this game is UNACCEPTABLE!

PS. I wish you lived in Naperville Host Ted instead of Joliet. If you did you would feel the pain of your readers and bloggers. You could relate to us. Living in Joliet and not feeling the screws the City of Naperville turns on us daily takes away the motivation you need to get the bus rolling and ram it in City Hall.

This is research I posted on the same topic several weeks ago. I got it from the Rialto and Paramount websites plus some online news articles. You can find it yourselves if you don't believe the information.

The Paramount Theatre in Aurora and Rialto in Joliet are negative profit institutions. Specifically, the Paramount in Aurora used $5.7 million in taxpayer funds for a restoration in 2006. Their website says that their funding is 70% ticket sales and 30% donations. They have 1,888 seats. The Rialto is seeking $4 million in donations for a current renovation. They have 1,400 seats. Both advertise broadway shows and star entertainers. They also have the added attraction of casinos to entice theatre goers. These theatres have been in place for decades and still haven't figured out a way to be profitable. What special formula has the Omnia Group developed that these other businesses have missed? I'll tell you...none.

They desperately want a theatre in town. They have formed a plan (based on what facts we don't know because they won't tell) that has the secret to success that noone else has discovered. If the plan was so concrete and infallible they would have financial backing even in these tough economic times.

Yes, Host Ted! Please do something I am far too lazy to do it on my own!

Responding to NIMBY, I'll speak for the residents in the surrounding area and say that we welcome the opportunity to revitalize the area around the train station, and feel it can, if done well, be a real positive for the area. However, in the words of Dot Brown we want "careful change", meaning something that is in scope, density, and character, compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Reasonably sized multi-family structures, if done tastefully, could work well on the Public Works site. Doing silly things like stuffing them onto the parking lots of the 5th Ave. Station building, effectively causing the building to "disappear" won't work.

For Anonymous on August 22, 2008 2:02 PM

Rest assured that there is no one on council or in city government that is on board with a $120 million TIF. It's a complete non starter.

My concern with the project is 1) the plans are secret and only revealed in small numbers. Why? 2) Who is going to run/manage the facility once it is done. How are they going to get the top acts to come to this location? 3) The impact on the train station and the commuters and the cost of parking in the area. 4) the impact on the Kohler building (5th Ave Station) and the businesses and residents of that building. Not to mention the real impact on the neighborhood and the park.

I keep thinking this is like the Meijer development in Lisle where the developers were told no, but influenced the village to let it go through. I don't think I want my tax dollars to be used for this potential white elephant. I googled Omnia Development and there was no real track record for doing big jobs like this online. Or maybe they like to keep it secret

I'm very pleased to see the scale of this proposal on the front page of the Sun. Take a close look and just picture how those buildings will dwarf anything in the neighborhood, except 5yh Ave Station. If you are inclined to support the concept, thats fine - then think about the implementation, and how you would like to have a building of that scale next to your average home. The comment in this article from the Omnia group that states the building targeted for the public works building would be no more imposing than the water tower is laughable. You can't seriously consider a building the same height but the length and depth of the block to be "no more imposing"!

Of course, with any proposal like this there is the "vision" which is rarely realistic - simply because the proposer knows compromises will have to be made. "lets propose 10 stories, maybe we'll actually get 6 or 7". Lets see this for what it is : An unrealistic plan designed to test the limits of acceptability. We need to define what is and isn't acceptable, stick to it and come up with a reasonable development plan that will revitalize the area.

1) The city should have no ownership of any theatre district/development.
2) The city should sell the property to developers at a fair market price - not give it away under the guise of cooperation.
3) Development in this neighborhood has to respect the homes: New development should grow in scale relative to the neighboring property - New property should match existing property in height and density. Nothing taller than 5th Ave Station. Better access for commuters, residents, schools and improved sidewalks along Washington.

I look forward to the 5th Ave Study being able to better define what is appropriate in this area and applying it to any future development be it a cafe, a theatre, condos, anything - as long as it complements the nieghborhood instead of trying to redefine it.

You should also remember this is also the backyard or our MAYOR! With that said, I doubt he is going to support it either, with or without personal pleas from Bev Patterson. The main reason I doubt he will support it is because of the dramatic cost that will have to be shouldered by the City. Have you all forgotten the big convention center proposal a few years back already? Good sense prevailed then and I would have to believe it will again. But secondly, the Mayor of all people know that the entire area is already congested with traffic. It does not need to be made any worse with this high density publicly funded nonsense. But if this ever does get legs, I will log off and protest any approval at the City Council and actively work with any person or persons who target for defeat each and every City council member that supports the project. This includes the Mayor who I admire from my days as a young boy and he was a patrolman, then Sgt., then Lt. to his very satisfactory performance to date and potential legacy as Mayor. Because of the huge public tax investment and associated risk, it has the potential to be a political career ender. More so than for example "accidently" back handing a cop! Of course the result is the same as the Councilman will learn should he decide to run again.

There will only be one opportunity to use the land adjacent to the commuter train station to solve the ongoing and ever-growing issue that has plagued our city for far longer than the need to use it for a performing arts center, namely commuter parking. The Metra train that provides a way for current and future residents to commute to gainful employment in Chicago not only provides better career opportunities for Naperville residents, but also eases congestion on the expressways and therefore conserves fuel as well. The waiting list for parking permits near the downtown train station is now up to seven or eight years and is lengthening as the city grows. As a homeowner and taxpayer in Naperville for over 35 years, I've witnessed firsthand the results of the lack of adequate planning of our infrastructure by the Naperville city council over the years, and we citizens are now paying the price with traffic gridlock and lack of adequate parking. I suggest that the city only consider the following use for the land adjacent to the commuter train station: constucting enough parking spaces to reduce the number of residents on the commuter parking waiting list from its current thousands to zero, including planning and building enough additional parking spaces to handle the need for commuter parking based on the projected growth of the city for the next ten years. Those parking spaces represent a realistic way for residents of a commute-to-work community like Naperville to secure better job opportunities, and that in turn makes for a better life in Naperville. The Omnia proposal is a small group's pipe dream whose benefits pale by comparison to this last opportunity to use that prime real estate to solve the real and ongoing commuter parking problem.

This area has long served as a major transportation hub for the city of Naperville. That is it's primary purpose, mission, and serrvice to our community. This transportation hub has been severely neglected through operations, maintenance, and growth to meet increased demand over the last 20 years.

It is illogical to even contemplate what such a conversion to a "theater district" would do to the daily lives of thousands of commuters for a couple of years while this projects would be under construction. Make no doubt about it, the existing parking lots would have to be taken out of service to construct these proposed buildings and we do not have alternative parking anywhere nearby to make up for this. Downtown commuters already have a long day as it is. A disruption of this nature would add significantly to the daily travel time of thousands of commuters and we will oppose this vigorously.

The downtown train station infrastructure must be addressed by the city of Naperville first. Parking decks must be built. A forward thinking city council, like Wheaton, would have already have built parking decks in anticipation of the demand. The city council and the city transportation department can drone on and on about remote parking, public transportation, etc. The fact is that commuters DO NOT want remote parking. Commuters DO NOT want public transportation. Commuters want parking adjacent to the train station. We have waited long enough. We have suffered thru 8 and 9 year waiting lists to get a parking spot. There will be open rebellion when people who have waited 8-9 years for a parking spot are displaced to build anything that is not related to solving the existing parking problems.

Fact is the sooner a parking deck is built the sooner parking can be eliminated on Fifth Avenue and other surrounding streets which will allow the capacity and flow to increase. It will cut down on wait times and congestion.

The downtown parking decks in the commercial area are no longer a priority. None of the existing parking decks are even close to their capacity. One new one is nearing completion and the plans for the rest should be mothballed for present.

All the energy of the city council should be directed towards redirecting the money that would have been spent on a parking deck at the library to construct a parking deck at the downtown train station. The city needs to acquire the buildings and land west of Fifth Avenue Station and then to move forward with a true sense of urgency to build a parking deck that will be adequately sized to serve the needs of all commuter residents of Naperville. It is time to design and build a proper parking deck. It is time to end the ridiculous waiting times for a parking permit. And when it is build it will be time to sell off the barren expanses asphalt remote lots to the developers and restore some charm to this neighborhood.

And the whole retail concept surrounding this area and the Omnia proposal is doomed to fail. Retail merchants are having enough trouble surviving up on Ogden Avenue. This location would be doomed from the start. No one is going to drive to this area as a destination. Would theater goers shop before or after an event? Not likely before... what do you do with your purchases during the performance? Afterwards, perhaps. More likely they will be like most and in a rush just to get out and go home.

Forget rail commuters patronizing these stores. If you don't believe this talk to merchants in other towns up and down any of the rail lines. Commuters make up a very small per cent of their customers. Most commuters arrive in the morning with a few minutes to spare before their train. We are downtown all day with far superior shopping choices as it is. When the train home gets into the station the last thing on our minds is shopping. We are thinking about dinner, homework, yard work, practice, games, etc.

When and only when the needs of commuters have been adequately met would it be an appropriate time for the city council to discuss any other potential uses of land that may be available for development in this area. Train station parking is the highest priority problem the city council needs to address and solve. The current situation and the situation that has been allowed to exist for the last 15 years negatively affects the lives of thousand of Naperville residents. This has been allowed to breed and fester for way too long and simply must be solved before anyone even begins to think about building any theaters.

I grew up on N. Wright St. My 83 yr.old healthy & wonderful mom told me the disheartening news of what's in the making by the train station and down 5th Ave. This is a residential neighborhood. This is a residential neighborhood. I cannot say that enough. A wonderful neighborhood with parks & a great "feel" of what a simple neighborhood should be, full of young and old, middle class and the wealthy. I live in Washington State now and whenever I go back "home" I walk all over my part of town. I've seen Naperville become overcrowded over the years and see how the cars line up and down 5th Ave. High rise development plans to encroach on these wonderful neighbors saddens me. Now mom does understand that a parking garage of some kind probably needs to be built which could take some of the pressure off the streets. A parking garage can go underground and up maybe a couple stories but to build a high rise entertainment center casting shadows and changing the feel of the neighorbood is disturbing. I don't care if it's my old neighborhood or someone else's. I don't care if this area was full of poor homeless people. You cannot just mow over people. The lack of connection and concern by supporters for this proposed development is shocking and ARROGANT to me. Naperville is selling its soul to developers and I have seen it coming for some time now. OPEN AND INCLUSIVE MEETINGS need to be held for ALL to attend. No backroom dealings should be going on, not in the town I grew up in! Be ever vigilant citizens, you deserve to hear the whole story and have your voices be heard. Call your council members and attend city meetings.

I agree with By Omnia is a Disaster in the Making. on August 22, 2008 3:30 PM that partnering is a code word for guaranteeing all losess resulting from this "No Think Tank."

City of Naperville should concentrate on running the city and not businesses in the city. The Omnia Project is a business...not a city subsidiary tht the city should be responsible for!

A business should compete with other businesses on a fair playing field. It should not compete with City Hall which has the power to tax itself out of bankruptcy.

That just seems not only unfair but immoral.

Bev is way over her head! Is she and how much is she planning to contribute to the city council members out of her $500,000 collected to sway votes to her favor?

I guess maybe she thinks if she makes significant contributions to the council members, they will vote her 200 million dollars of taxpayer money to fund her very high risk project!

My advice is Bev and the City Council better watch what they do.

It was not long ago that the Napergate Man uncovered large contributions flowing from the Brestal Law Firm to the City Council members to influence votes. Thankfully after he exposed them, they did stop!!!

Just like the Napergate Man uncovered that mess, I am sure someone else will uncover this mess. Let us hope everyone plays by the rules and no one tries or attempts to buy anyone on the council.

The city council must understand they are not for sale...their votes can not be bought. They must understand that they represent all Napervillians and not the few establishment folks looking for a $200,000,000 hand-out!

The answer should be NO, NO, and NO to this handout!

Am I missing something or is there almost no one besides Bev and those who would financially benefit personally from this project who are in favor of it?

The silence by those who are supposed to be in favor of this project has been deafening!

Well, I've read the first thing that concerns me greatly. This from the Daily Herald article today:

The project would be built in phases over five years, with developers paying for the retail and residential components.

The performing arts center would be the final piece and be built only if Omnia has raised sufficient funds by then, minimizing risk, Coffey said.

The performing arts center and parking garage would cost about $200 million and organizers say they would need a $20 million endowment to assist with operating costs.

I have wondered a bit how much the Omnia people were being led down the garden path by their developer/legal consultants. How ironic it would be if the high rises get built, and then, gee, there just isn't enough money to fund the theater and parking deck. Somebody makes a lot of money building condos, and Omnia, the city, the Metra commuters, and the neighborhood all get left holding the bag. Where will the commuters park then? There will be a nice new high rise condo tower where they used to park, and the Public Works garage site will have a couple too. Guess the city would then be forced into building a parking deck themselves on the remaining property.

So it seems we have another layer of implausibility. Do they truly expect the city create a TIF district based on a definite maybe?

A comparison with the Water Street development is illustrative here. The developers were granted a TIF and in a public private partnership are building a 500+ parking deck as part of the development. The critical difference is the deck is going in first.

Lastly, this is just priceless:

The group showed (to Herald staff) artist renderings of the complex but would not provide them for publication.

When you continually show that you don't dare show you proposal to the public, perhaps it's time to call it a day.

Thom,

This 200 million for a parking deck and a Performing Arts Center sounds a bit on the high side.

The price for the massive library deck was given at 19.9 million dollars by city officials. Why would a parking deck at the train station cost many times more?

Even if it cost twice as much, does that mean this 2700 seat Performing Arts Center will cost 160,000,000 dollars. You can build a baseball stadium that seats 50k for less than that if you don't have suites with marble floors and chandlier lights swinging with bikini clad showgirls.

Something is just not adding up. Two hundred million is a lot of money. And imagine if this Center cost $160 million and had an operating loss of 10 million as is expected. Who is going to handle this loss?

This whole fiasco is a complete mess.

Right now all we need is one nice parking deck paid for by the city with the 19.9 million budgeted for the library deck, that is NOT NEEDED. Height should not be an issue! Woodridge allowed 12 story buildings in 7 Bridges and the last one looks like a gem.

If we can build one large pretty and skillfully architected 12 story deck we can free up all the other asphalt lots that are an eyesore especially when they are empty on the weekends and evenings. This land could be put to better use if we have a 12 story, 2500 parking spot garage to take care of the needs of all Naperville Residents who need a parking spot.

What puzzles me is the city is willing to build garages where they are not needed and people are not willing to pay. At the train station people would be happy to pay 3-5 bucks to park their car. This parking garage could generate 10,000 dollars a day or nearly 2.5 million a year for the city and pay for itself in a decade or two.

If it is big enough for everyone no passes will have to be sold. People can pull in and pay daily as they exit as they do in Chicago! First come first serve will not be a problem as everyone will get a spot. Late arrivers will just have to park on the 12th floor which could be a minor inconvenience but is better than having no spot or being on a 9 year list and finally getting your spot when you may be buried 6 feet underground.

Five parking garages downtown is an eyesore. They take too much space that is better suited for retail and office. One or two 12 story parking garages could have done the job. Land is expensive in downtown so we need to go up and not use all this scarce and expensive land for parking. Las Vegas went up 12 stories and no one seems to think Vegas is not heavenly beautiful. As someone who does not gamble, I simply go there to take in the beauty of such hotels as Bellagio and the Venetian.

Since there is some much available parking at Centennial Beach which is only 2 blocks from downtown, sometimes I wonder if we need all this ADDITIONAL parking. What a beautiful short walk from CB to downtown! Anyone in the City of Chicago would walk 5 or 10 blocks to get free parking. All we are asking is for the rare overflow to walk 2 blocks IF there is not enough parking downtown.

The other day 3 Caterpillar buses parked at Centennial Beach and their 150 passengers found their way to downtown within minutes. I was walking alongside them and no one complained. One block was gone while they were taking in our beautiful scene at the beach and the other block passed taking in the Riverwalk! It was just a stop for dinner so our downtown restaurants got a little bit of a needed boost on a slow weekday.

Having said what I said, I have never not found street parking downtown as long as I circled once or twice. Never had to use a garage even though I go downtown 5 times a week. When I drive up the garages for curioisity, the upper levels of the Van Buren Garage are usually empty and plenty of parking can be found on all 3 floors of the Chicago Ave. Garage.

Anyone who lives in Naperville and frequents the downtown knows how to find plenty of parking everywhere. With Tessa, 10 West Street, Sharper Image, Al's Beef and many other businesses closed down, parking got much easier.

Eventually City Hall will have to lay off 10% of it employees freeing more parking, unless they want to sock the taxpayer with another 18% tax increase this year. I doubt Naperville would sock us with another hefty tax increase. Last year they blamed Dick Furstenau for all their problems. Who are they going to blame this year? Councilman Bob for daring to share his thoughts and providing us with some important data!

Our city officials need to get their act together and build a parking garage where it is need and wanted...NOT where it is NOT needed or wanted.

It just blows my mind that city officials have concrete plans to build 3 parking garages downtown and no plans to build ONE desperately needed parking garage for the train commuters. They maintain this 9 year waiting list! How could they not know where parking is needed? I am truly amazed at how this city is run.

I feel if the Naperville Sun would do a better job of exposing the incompetence of our city officials, something unique could happen in this beautiful town! But someone has to hold them accountable for their actions first. There is no Napergate Man so the Naperville Sun must take on the duty and responsibility of calling our city officials out when they stray this bad in their reason and logic!

It appears Councilman Bob, the sole voice of reason and communication on the council, has been silenced by the establishment. I guess they told him another word from you and we will reprimand you like we reprimanded CM Dick Furstenau.

I guess our only hope is in the ELECTION BOOTH! I hope everyone votes and we can bring change!!!

Let us try to be the best place to live in America instead of the 3rd best place year after year. If we need a mountain as Mayor Pradel stated to beat Ft. Collins, Colorado then let us build this 12 story parking garage by the train station to look like a mountain. We could hit 2 birds with one stone.

The Chinese did a great job designing and building a stadium to look like a Bird's Nest. Why can't we make a parking garage look like a mountain in Colorado? Maybe we need to go 24 stories on the garage to get the Rocky Mountain effect! If we don't have the talent in Naperville, put a call into China and I am sure they will export you the right architect, Mr. Mayor. After all everything else seems to be exported from China these days at very affordable and reasonable prices!

And imagine if this garage is built to look like a high mountain, the view each and every resident would have from their home. Even Thom and his neighbors would welcome such a garage disguised as a mountain. Yes, we would finally be ranked number 1 in the country and need make no excuses anymore why we constantly come in second or third year after year. Let us go for that GOLD! I am tired of silver and bronze. Yes, Mayor Pradel, is on record stating the only thing missing in Naperville is a mountain. Well here is the opportunity of a lifetime to build that MIGHTY MOUNTAIN and win the GOLD finally!

Let us call the Chinese! They may have some spare time since the OLYMPICS just ended! Didn't they do a wonderful job with everything and especially that Bird's Nest Stadium! It is time for our Mountain Garage! If they can do it, we can do it!

Let us try to have this Mountain Garage built by 2016 to coincide with the Chicago Olympics! It could also be an attraction that could bring us some Olympic Guests!

I have a couple of cynical comments related to this issue.

First, anyone who has watched controversial development proposals in Naperville should have learned by now that the first proposal is nothing more than a gimmick to provide the developer with "concessions" to make down the road. Example: the retirement home on Ogden at the river. The area was zoned for 3 stories. The developer asked for 7 and settled for 5. It was called a concession, when in fact, the building is 2 stories taller than the zoning allowed. Eventually, Omnia will make "concessions" here.

Second, sooner or later, developers get what they want in Naperville. It might take a while, but they do. Recent example: Commercial at 75th and prox Wherli. Rejected by the Plan Commission at least twice, now approved. It's the same project....If the Plan Commission had rejected it, the Council would have approved the plan.

So, while there may not be any support on council today, history suggests that will change. ( History also suggests that the taxpayers will foot the bill in the end.)

If it can not be built with a financial model of self-sufficiency I should not be built. Revenue must exceed expenses period. No endowments. They do not work and with this business model all it is is a CODE word for a taxpayer subsidy. Make no mistake the taxpayers of Naperville have zero interest in subsidizing a $20 million dollar per year shortfall. Face it, in 10 years that will likely grow to a $40 million dollar a year shortfall and on and on and on. We will be stuck funding this thing forever.

The entire architectural team needs to explain to someone how they calculated the cost of this theater and parking decks to total $200 million dollars.... which is quite a staggering sum. A casino in Indiana just built a 2,500 seat theater for $70 million dollars and as anyone who has ever been inside a casino venue will agree it is really hard to match the decadence and expense of the interior finishes they use anywhere else. So if we start with $70 million as an upper limit for the theater add on say another 40 million dollars for a couple of parking decks we are only at $110 million. The remaining $90 million would just about cover the building cost for the new Metea Valley High School. It doesn't make any sense on how professional estimators would arrive at a cost of $200 million dollars for this proposal.

I agree that Omnia developers are trying to pull a fast one if there is a real intent to build the condo and retail proposals first. Phase one of any development/redevelopment in this general area simply must be to address commuter parking. I'm not sure a 12 story parking deck is actually needed considering the footprint of the land that is available to the west of Fifth Avenue Station. Hopefully at least one or two levels can be below ground to minimize the height of the overall structure out of care, concern, compassion, and respect for the neighbors and neighborhood.

Commuter parking is the first priority. Commuter parking is the highest priority. Once the problem with commuter parking has been fixed for present and with either capacity or capability for future growth then, and only then, would it possibly be an appropriate time to even to begin to consider a proposal such as Omnia.

At this point in time if the Omnia board has not finally realized that they have severely damaged their proposal with the shroud of secrecy they threw over the entire disclosure process then they need a real loud wake-up call. In most regards I tend to think that simply too much permanent damage has been done by now to ever make this proposal a really viable possibility.

Well rookies are expected to make rookie mistakes. In the game of developing a mixed use proposal of this scale, from all their actions and communication bumbling Omnia has clearly confirmed they are rookies. With so much riding on the taxpayers shoulders to make this proposal a reality I'm not sure we want to trust a decision any where this magnitude in scale and cost to a bunch of rookies.

In the 30 years I have lived here, Naperville has never had a fine arts center. Now, North Central is building one and it is privately financed between the college and donors. Good for them.

Now we have Omnia, who thinks we need another only blocks away from North Central's, and at an estimated cost of $200 million. Are these people nuts? Who are they? A group of residents who just come together to put forth an agenda? Heck, I guess I can do that on my own block. Think the City Council would buy this proposal? How nice of them to donate $500,000 toward this projected debacle. What about the people who live over there?

We already have one debacle called the Carillon, which cost twice as much to build as projected with the City now having to pay to finish it (that was never the intention).

I have news for you. If you want a venue to bring productions such as Wicked and Jersey Boys out here, one already exists. It's called Drury Lane in Oak Brook. Drive there!

Should the City Council get involved in public safety???

My name is Marsha Vertan and I have recently relocated to Naperville , IL with my husband Marius and two children, Christopher and Jeremy who are 4 and 20 months respectively. During our relocation, we needed a furnished apartment upon our arrival before we were able to look for a permanent place to live. I did a search while still in Austin and came up with D'oro Suite on apartmentsearch.com. I contacted Connie Furstenau, the building manager, to inquire if there were any units available for an August 3rd move-in and she informed me there was a unit which had just become vacant. I was ecstatic since our move was happening in two weeks and I had been unsuccessful in finding a place on such short notice. I sent her a deposit for $450 and she in turn mailed a lease which we signed and returned to her. I didn't realize at the time that we had just taken legal responsibility for something we had not even seen in person.

Fast forward to move-in day, August 3, 2008. Connie was away on vacation the day we arrived and Stacy was gracious enough to let us in. She handed us a move-in inspection form and an application for electric service, which we were informed was our responsibility. She gave us a quick walk-through of the unit, apologized for the deteriorating condition of the sofa in the living room, saying something about Connie getting around to replacing it, collected my rent check in the amount of $1,395 and was on her way. My husband's initial reaction was to walk out immediately, but I convinced him to give it a chance since we had just driven from Austin and had no other place to go. Against his better judgment, he agreed to stay.

The unit was being advertised as "furnished executive housing". My husband travels for work and we have stayed in numerous corporate housing, therefore we expected a certain standard because of the advertising. Upon closer inspection we realized that besides the dilapidated sofa, unsteady entertainment unit and dining set, there was rust on the track of the shower doors in the bathrooms. Needless to say, that after two days on the road, I was not able to give the kids a bath that evening. We spent the night and got up the following morning in search of a place to live. Late that evening, after putting the kids to bed, my husband noticed a strange odor coming from the a/c vents. We shut the unit off immediately and opened all the windows fearful of what we were all inhaling. We booked a hotel room that evening and left the following morning. I knocked on the door of the management office but there was nobody there. I left the keys along with a note telling Connie that we had put a stop payment on the rent check and had moved out. I gave her a list of all our grievances and asked that she return our security deposit less the two days we had spent there. I contacted apartmentsearch.com to let them know that someone should investigate the condition of the property since it was listed on their website. We spent another 2 days at a hotel before finding a place to live and I then left her a note with our forwarding address.

I received a letter from Connie on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 asking that we forward a check in the amount of $366, which represents the 17 days which the unit was vacant before she re-rented it, less our security deposit. She asked kindly that we should forward this amount within 14 days or risk her pursuing legal action for which fees we would also be liable for. No mention of any of our grievances, just her disappointment when she learned of our quick departure upon her return from vacation. I called her upon receipt of the letter and tried to address the numerous health/safety issues but she again pointed out, as in her letter, that I over-reacted. Over-reacted? About the safety of my children? She didn't want to discuss any of my concerns and told me the letter stands and she has nothing further to say on the matter.

Since then, I have contacted City Attorney Margo Ely, who directed me to the City of Naperville's Code Enforcement Division, with whom I have left a message, Matthew Fullman, with the DuPage Department of Health, who told me this matter was beyond their jurisdiction, and have also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I have sent a similar copy of this email to local newspapers and television stations hoping to generate some interest. I am willing to contact as many people necessary in order to bring attention to the existing conditions present in the units she is renting out so future tenants will not have to go through what we did. This is not an issue of a landlord/tenant dispute about rent, as it stopped being about the money for us.

It has been quite a welcome to this lovely city, a place ranked #3 on Money Magazine’s annual “Best Places to Live” list. As a mother of two small children, I feel that the safety of our children should be a priority in every city. Being a stay at home mom, I have the time, the drive and energy to address issues which I feel are important to all parents. I wonder if Connie Furstenau would give her children a bath in the same tub she thought deemed fit for my kids!

Friends,

I want to suggest/request another step in this process. Clearly, OMNIA is not above board here. They are covertly trying to further their agenda and avoiding any public debate on the issue. OMNIA is also clearly trying to end run the law and policies of our great city and have caused great anxiety among the citizens who are always trying to improve the community in a reasonable controlled manner. Finally, as the above bloggers pointed out, OMNIA suggests a fantasy that will be leaving large financial liability to the taxpayers of Naperville. OMNIA's plans could (and most probably would) cause many people a huge hardship which one has to believe that the instigators know and are thus trying their best to avoid being detected.

Because of the way OMNIA continues to comport itself I would like to ask the following things be done by the mayor and city council and have these finding published in the Naperville Sun:

1)The articles of incorporation from OMNIA that they would have to file with the State of Illinois and Register of Deeds to be a "not-for-profit" as they contend should be thoroughly reviewed. The officers of the company should be identified as well as the contributors of the money they allegedly have. The articles would also have to explain how they can be classified as a Not-for-Profit, which I believe at this point could be contended. I think that the Articles of Incorporation of OMNIA would not square with their behavior and thus violate the rules of Not-for-Profit.

2) I also suggest that the Mayor and City Council move to suspend all dealings with OMNIA, and the individuals involved with OMNIA, due to their underhanded business practices. This sends out two messages. First, the message is that there is a process that is followed in this city that assures the voice of the people is heard and the will of the people is excercised. We must be resolved that when a company like OMNIA tries to avoid that process, they will not be allowed to do business in Naperville. We can't allow this type of aggitation and subversion of our rules. Second, banning OMNIA and the individuals behind this, gives all of us another reason to be proud and confident that our city leadership holds to a higher standard.

I'd also like to commend the SUN on its coverage and keeping us informed. Nice job.

Doc

Anonymous,

You must be a newcomer. The Napergatians figured out this Ken guy long ago. As you correctly stated he knows little to nothing.

He likes a debate but can't debate.

And finally as you properly indicated the world is changing around Ken and he simply can not jump on the train. He is the kind of guy who always misses the last train. Leave him at the train station and just forget about him.

He is not worth your time! Continue your excellent writings that most of us find very informative.

Changing subjects, I am glad you agree with my earlier post that this 200 million dollars for a Performing Arts Center and a garage is a little ridiculous. I saw that quote of 70 million for the casino performing arts center. Just wanted to point out casinos love to exaggerate what the true costs of anything really is.

In Las Vegas every hotel claims that there hotel is a few billion dollars more than the next hotel. It is a game they play. The public records in Vegas indicated that all hotels cost about half of what they were advertised to cost.

That Performing Arts Center that you mentioned at 70 million probably cost 35 million at most. That even seems to be ridiculously high!

Even at 27 million, that puts each chair at 10,000 dollars assuming 2700 seats. When the hell did a seat at a theater cost as much as a brand new car. Let us use some logic and reason here. Yes, a theater has a roof but 2700 cars have 2700 roofs. And each car has 5 seats and not only one seat. Something is amiss here!

If you assume Omnia is estimating 160 million for 2700 seats, that is almost 60,000 per seat or almost the price of a top of the line Mercedes or BMW for each seat. Bev and her fans are truly rookies who are not in touch with reality.

For all I know Bev could be Ken's wife! They seem like a match made in Heaven!

Host Ted,
I would like to hear your opinion on Omnia! Sometimes when a topic is dying down a Host can liven it up by making a few comments.

In the past you were very involved with your blog site. In the present you seem very absent!

Why is that, Host Ted?

I think your past involvement along with Mr. Jim Lynch's made this blog site a smashing success!

Anyone can see that this Sun Blog Site lost 90% of its bloggers. They seem to have lost interest as both the Host and former Moderator stopped participating.

Eric Zorn of the Chicgo Tribune continues to have a successful blog site that is still growing. I believe it is because of his active participation and interaction with his bloggers.

I hope to see you return to your old ways, Host Ted! You were obviously very successful at one time with most of your threads cracking a hundred posters rather easily. Some cracking 500 and one even approaching a 1000. Your views were 100,000 per week!

I am sure the loss of Moderator Jim in addition to you having to take on all his duties, both on the blog site and in the newsprint, had a lot to do with your inability to participate.

However, I hope as things settle down at the Naperville Sun, you can one day return to active participation on your blog site! I miss all your well thought out and articulated comments of the past!

Hopefully you can make some comments on Omnia and we can liven this thread again that seemed to die a few days ago. I don't think the subject is dead so I do not know why the thread died.

If anything this particular thread raised many questions that have not been answered. Let us give it an injection Host Ted with some comments from YOURSELF!!!

The Children's Museum needs money. Build a parking deck on their surface lot, and give the Museum the ground floor of the garage plus $10K per month of the profit. Issue revenue bonds and pay the debt with parking fees. Build an entrance into a lower level of the garage near the bottom of the hill on Washington. Design the stairs and elevators to open right onto the train platform, or provide covered walkways between the garage and platform.

Rick T: You don't get it! Most of us posting oppose giving public money to fund projects that should either stand on their own or not at all. This includes the Children's Museum. Send it back to Wheaton and let them fund it. Oh, right, they wouldn't so it moved here. The Museum must adjust their operating expenses and if they can't, no museum and no Omnia. Kind of like my house. I have to adjust my budget based on anticipated income vs. expenses. And I am tired of having less income to spend on what I want to spend it on (after all I did earn it)because government cannot comport itself as I and most every other citizen taxpayer must.

On an earlier thread in Potluck I proposed that the Children's Museum build a parking deck to replace the surface lot.

The Children's Museum, in my opinion, is a great asset to our community. I also recognize that it serves the wider metropolitan area, not just Naperville. Naperville also supports the museum, thru the city and thru patronage at disproportionately higher levels than any other communities in Du Page.

Building a parking deck could be a win-win situation for both the museum and the commuters. The museum needs more revenue to cover their operating expenses. Commuters need more available and convenient parking. The museum faces two challenges in installing a parking deck. The first is funding. They are going to need some assistance to pull off the financing. Once that happens it is a sure bet they will have 100% subscribed revenue stream. The second challenge will be for the museum to be able to offer parking while building a deck. The risk being that if the construction offsets too much patronage they will have an immediate cash flow problem.

It would be in the city's absolute best interest to do whatever is necessary to help the museum build a parking deck up to and including guaranteeing their loan. This would be a far wiser investment by the city in terms of long term protection of the museum's financial health while eliminating it's dependence from continuing subsidies. Even better the city will receive a higher satisfaction rating from commuters who desperately need parking.

By: Anonymous on August 28, 2008 11:13 AM
“It would be in the city's absolute best interest to do whatever is necessary to help the museum build a parking deck up to and including guaranteeing their loan.”

=====================================================

Why? Shouldn’t we let the market decide which businesses make it and which do not? We are not talking about an essential city service like the police or fire department. We are not talking about a much needed public charity like the food pantry or an abused spouse shelter. They are a private non-profit corporation. And non-profit does not mean non-business. They must live by the same rules as any other business in town. To stay in business they need to either decrease their expenses by cutting salaries and/or other costs or increase their revenues by upping their prices and/or customers. There is nothing unique about the children’s museum. Even the Naperville United Way is going out of business, with Naperville now being handled out of a regional office in Oak Brook, after recognizing that their expenses were too high compared to their revenue and could not get it fixed. Every private business, either for-profit or non-profit, must live or die by these rules. Otherwise we risk having more financial and management catastrophes like the carillon.

Another Public Bailout,

I agree with most of what you posted. At the same time I think we all need to recognize that the city has been subsidizing the Children's Museum for a long time and probably will continue to subsidize it for the foreseeable future. I also think that what the Children's Museum provides to the young children of Naperville is important enough for the city to have enough confidence and faith in the organization to guarantee a loan so that it can build a parking deck that would be an important element in permanently removing it from needing government subsidies.

I look at the guarantee this way. If the guarantee works and the Children's Museum is successful the entire amount of money will be repaid and it will have cost the taxpayers nothing. The Children's Museum will have complete ownership and the responsibility for the ongoing operation and maintenance. They will also be able to collect enough revenue to solve their financial problems and actually start to build an endowment for the future.

On the other hand, if the Children's Museum defaults somewhere along the line towards paying off the loan then the City would be obligated to step in, take over the parking deck, and pay off the balance due on the loan.

No matter what a parking deck is needed for the downtown train station. Any private organization can build a parking deck for less than what it will cost the city. Residents and commuters will benefit from the additional parking. If the museum defaults and ownership transfers to the city it will still end up costing taxpayers less than if the city built the deck themselves. Let's not forget that with a 8-9 year waiting list there is enough demand for parking that the a deck should be pretty much filled to maximum capacity.

Yes, the carillon was a mess and a financial disaster. The carillon was never supposed to end up the way it did. I do think the economics of the Children's Museum is totally different in that there is an obvious revenue stream that will make a huge difference in project success. The carillon project projections were all based upon private donations which just did not come thru in the end.

The City and the taxpayers will not have to subsidize Omnia. The entire Omnia project will generate up to a $150 million annual economic impact - spending into the community by new residents, theater goers, new property taxes after the TIF is completed.

The TIF is the proposed mechanism to fund an underground, weather protected parking garage that adds 950 new commuter parking stpacs. It will also pay for the Performing Arts Center. Both will become new civic assets. The City will own the parking garage and could also own the arts center. The Omnia group is a nonprofit group orgainized to bring arts to the community. It is not a devleoper.

A devleoper will be hired to build the residences and retail that will provide the taxes to pay into the TIF to pay for the civic assets. Initial opertional funds for the performing arts center will also come form the TIF.

Go to the website: www.omniaarts.org for updates on this project.

I am the Executive Director for the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois. I'd like to respond to a couple of comments made on this blog about the Paramount.
Our new lobby addition/ and addition of backstage space at 28 Downer cost a total of $6.2 million. We raised $4 million of that with private donations on our own. We are a non-profit 501 c-3 corporation. We received 2.5 million in tiff funding/bonds from the city, because we also took a run down building in the downtown and refurbished it to help the downtown and we are operating it. The Paramount actually operates under the Aurora Civic Center Authority Act and is independent from the city. Our charter is to help revitalize the downtown and stimulate economic development. We receive funding from the casino head tax dollars each year to help subsidize our operations.

I have been reading about the plans for the Omnia and it sounds very interesting, I would like to make a couple of observations about the feasibility study. One, it identifies the Paramount Theatre as a vaudeville movie theatre. Actually we present about 40 national tours and Broadway shows annually, as well as about 40 rental shows.

I encourage you to take a look at our website, www.theparamounttheatre.com and welcome you to come and take a tour of the facility. It is a beautiful theatre with no obstructed views and nearly perfect acoustics, as Tony Bennet noted while he performed here. We bring in National Broadway tours, comedy, music, dance and more, we have about 150,000 people frequent the Paramount annually. I think it is remiss not to take it into consideration when it is only 10 miles from the proposed Omnia site.

I think Naperville is an outstanding community which can successfully support a performing arts center. But I caution you on the concept that it will be a profit center for the city. The national statistics prove that theatres and centers of this nature operate on a 60% earned 40% contributed model.

The last point I'd like to make is, no matter how large the theatre, the Omnia will not be able to supersede Broadway In Chicago or theatres in downtown Chicago to secure first run National Broadway Tours. The national tours have commitments that go far beyond stage size. These deals are made before these shows even open on Broadway. The National Broadway tours will always play the major markets first, before secondary markets, as most of the primary market theatres are also owned and operated by the producers of these tours. The Omnia will have the same shows available to them as those at the Paramount Theatre.

I have always been a huge fan of downtown Naperville, and would be more than willing to see how we can work together and see how our facilities may be able to complement each other.

Very sincerely yours,
Diana Martinez