Old Nichols Library at 110 S. Washington St. nearly became a parking lot in 2017. The Richardsonian Romanesque building, constructed in 1897 with a $10,000 bequest from James L. Nichols, is now home to Gia Mia restaurant. It is one of only six locally landmarked structures in all of Naperville.

A yearlong study published Wednesday, June 25, by Naperville Preservation Inc. puts that number in stark context. The report, titled "Progress Through Preservation," compared Naperville to 29 peer communities and found the city near the bottom: Aurora has 58 landmarked buildings, Downers Grove has 33, Elgin has 22, and Evanston has more than 850.

"We wanted to prove the point that other communities have done more on historic preservation, and to help people understand that it is possible to have viable economic development while also doing historic preservation," said Joe McElroy, a Naperville Preservation Inc. board member and the study's lead author.

The gap extends beyond individual buildings. Naperville has one local historic district and no thematic districts. Aurora has four local historic districts; Joliet has three plus four thematic districts. And while Elgin, Geneva, and St. Charles each employ full-time preservation staff, Naperville assigns one assistant planner to preservation work roughly 15% of the time, according to the study.

The city isn't planning to change that anytime soon. Allison Laff, Naperville's deputy director of Transportation, Engineering and Development, said the city does not plan to act on any of the nonprofit's recommendations because staff capacity is focused on an Interstate 88 corridor study that the City Council funded with $150,000 in May 2026.

Naperville will mark its 200th anniversary in 2031. The City Council confirmed three bicentennial committee chairs on Monday, May 5, including Paul Hinterlong, a 60-year Naperville resident and former city councilman, as History & Heritage chair. McElroy said the nonprofit was told repeatedly by city staff that preservation is a low priority for the City Council.

What the study recommends

The report calls for dedicating at least half of one full-time city employee to historic preservation, increasing penalties for buildings demolished through neglect, revising zoning to encourage renovation over new construction, hosting annual workshops to teach property owners how to landmark their buildings, and creating a "Hot 100" list of properties eligible for financial incentives.

Naperville Preservation Inc. has already identified candidates for that list, including the building housing Kreger's Brat and Sausage House at 605 N. Ellsworth St. and the MetroWest office building at 55 Shuman Blvd. MetroWest, a 10-story structure designed by architect Helmut Jahn that opened in 1986, sold in April 2026 for $16.1 million, roughly half the $32.5 million it fetched in 2015.

Neighboring communities already offer financial incentives Naperville does not. Hinsdale recently established matching grants, zoning bonuses, permit fee waivers, and property tax rebates for exterior improvements to historically significant structures. St. Charles offers a facade improvement grant program.

The preservation nonprofit grew directly out of the Save Old Nichols Library campaign and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2019. Since then, it has helped push the city's landmark count from four to six. The most recent addition, First Congregational Church at Benton Avenue and Center Street, was designated on Tuesday, February 17. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest church in DuPage County.

No City Council vote on the "Progress Through Preservation" recommendations has been scheduled. Naperville's bicentennial is five years away.