By Sam Bader, Horizon Construction Team LLC | 20+ years building retail, restaurant, and franchise projects across Chicagoland | Published September 21, 2026
Quick Answer
Most new retail in Naperville in 2026 is not going on empty land. It is going into old shopping centers that are being torn down, split up, or refilled. The biggest activity is on Route 59, where the $53 million Block 59 project replaced a half-empty center with restaurants, and where L.L.Bean opens on September 25 in a former Bed Bath and Beyond. Other hot spots are the Riverbrook Shopping Center on North Aurora Road, downtown storefronts, and the I-88 corridor, where the city is now rewriting zoning. A new state law that ended parking minimums near train stations on June 1, 2026 will also change how projects near Naperville’s two Metra stations are designed.
Naperville is still one of the strongest retail markets in the Chicago suburbs. National brands want in. Restaurants keep signing leases. But the way new retail gets built here has changed.
Ten years ago, growth meant new plazas on open land along the south end of Route 59. Today, most of that land is gone. New retail now comes from redevelopment: old centers, dead big boxes, empty grocery anchors, and aging office parks.
For owners, developers, and tenants, that shift changes everything about construction. Budgets, timelines, permits, and design all look different when you are working inside or on top of something that already exists.
Here is where the new retail is going in Naperville, what is being built, and what it means if you are planning a project here.
1. Route 59 and Aurora Avenue: Block 59
This is the biggest retail story in Naperville right now.
Brixmor Property Group took Heritage Square and Westridge Court, a center that first opened in 1990, and rebuilt it as a dining and entertainment district called Block 59. The city says more than half of the storefronts were empty before the project. Brixmor committed $53 million to turn it around.
What got built:
- Demolition of underused buildings, which started in 2024
- New restaurant pad buildings around a central outdoor event plaza
- About 91,000 square feet of new space in total
- A mix of sit-down, fast casual, and entertainment tenants
Who is there: The lineup includes The Cheesecake Factory, First Watch, Piccolo Buco by Cooper’s Hawk, Velvet Taco, FreshFin Poke, Crisp and Green, Cava, Shake Shack, Stan’s Donuts, and Yard House. Ruth’s Chris Steak House was the last big name. Its 9,300-square-foot restaurant was set to open at 460 S. Route 59 on March 9, 2026.
What it tells us: Restaurants are now the anchor. The old model used a big box store to pull traffic. Block 59 uses a cluster of restaurants and a public plaza instead. That means more kitchens, more grease interceptors, more rooftop units, more patios, and much heavier utility loads per square foot than the retail boxes it replaced.
If you are planning a restaurant in a center like this, read our guide to restaurant and cafe construction. Kitchen utilities are where these budgets usually break.
2. Westridge Court: Refilling the Dead Big Boxes
Right next to Block 59, a different kind of project is happening. Not new buildings. New tenants in old ones.
L.L.Bean opens its first Naperville store on September 25, 2026 at 336 S. Route 59. The roughly 16,000-square-foot store fills the space that Bed Bath and Beyond left empty in 2023. It will be the brand’s fourth Illinois store, after Oak Brook, South Barrington, and Skokie.
Why this matters: Big box backfills are one of the most common retail projects in the suburbs right now. They look simple from the parking lot. They are not.
A typical big box refill can include:
- New storefront glass and a new facade to match the brand
- Demising walls if the space is being split for two tenants
- Upgrades to the old HVAC, which is often at the end of its life
- New fire sprinkler layouts to match the new floor plan
- Restroom and entrance upgrades to meet current accessibility rules
- New electrical service sized for the new use
Our retail renovation team handles this kind of work often. The biggest surprise is usually what is behind the ceiling and under the slab.
3. Route 59 and 103rd Street: Life Time
On the south end of Route 59, Life Time is building a 102,000-square-foot athletic club on about 10.5 acres at the corner of Route 59 and 103rd Street. It is expected to open in early 2027.
The land was owned by the city. It was zoned for a community shopping center, but it sat empty. To make the project work, the city rezoned it for office, commercial, and institutional use.
What it tells us: Some land once set aside for strip retail is now going to other uses. Fitness, medical, and entertainment users are taking sites that shopping centers used to get. For retail developers, that means fewer greenfield pads on Route 59 and more competition for the ones that are left.
4. North Aurora Road: Riverbrook Shopping Center
Riverbrook is one of the clearest examples of a failing center getting a second life.
Houston-based NewQuest bought the 140,892-square-foot center at North Aurora Road and Raymond Drive. At the time, it was only about 35 percent leased after the grocery anchor closed. NewQuest is now turning it into an Asian-focused retail and dining destination.
Confirmed tenants include:
- 99 Ranch Market, a 40,000-square-foot store and the chain’s first in Illinois
- Teso Life
- Fat Miilk Coffee
- Ba Le Sandwiches
- Gen Korean BBQ
- Kitakata Ramen
- Tokyo Shokudo
The developer said many tenants were targeting the third quarter of 2026, with long-term plans for more than 20 businesses.
What it tells us: A new grocery anchor is one of the fastest ways to bring a center back. But a specialty grocer needs a lot from the building: heavy refrigeration, large electrical service, floor drains, seafood and prep areas, and loading access that fits modern trucks.
Korean BBQ is also a construction-heavy use. Tabletop grills mean much more ventilation and exhaust than a standard restaurant.
This trend matches what we are seeing across Chicagoland. We wrote about it in our post on the Middle Eastern coffee shop boom, and it lines up with the Asian retail redevelopment at Pacifica Square covered in our Aurora commercial growth post.
5. Downtown Naperville: Small Spaces, Big Names
Downtown Naperville had a record year in 2025. The mayor said more than 15 new businesses opened, including Barnes and Noble, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Alo. More followed in 2026, including Lilly Pulitzer and Free People, with Brandy Melville set for Main Street Promenade.
Construction in downtown is different:
- Most projects are tenant buildouts inside older buildings
- Space is tight, with little room for staging or deliveries
- Work often has to happen at night or around business hours
- Older buildings can hide problems like outdated wiring, weak floors, or no fire separation
- Entry steps and small restrooms often trigger accessibility upgrades
The Walgreens site downtown has also been marketed for redevelopment, with interest from multifamily developers.
Tip for downtown tenants: Walk the space with a contractor before you sign. Our commercial lease build-out checklist covers what to check. For older storefronts, our guide to ADA requirements for retail and restaurant buildouts explains the upgrades that often come with a remodel.
6. The I-88 Corridor: The Next Big Shift
This is the area to watch over the next five to ten years.
The I-88 corridor was built around large, single-use office campuses. Many of them are now underused. A 2025 study by AECOM, done for the Naperville Development Partnership, called the corridor underperforming and recommended a special zoning district that would allow denser, mixed-use, walkable development.
What happened in 2026:
- On May 19, 2026, the city council voted 8-1 to make the I-88 corridor its one special planning study for the year
- The city set aside $150,000 for a consultant
- The study will create a land use plan and flag where zoning is outdated
- Leaders are worried about “residential creep,” where old office sites turn into housing only
- Earlier in 2026, the council rejected a proposed data center at the east end of the corridor
Mixed-use is already here. Hines broke ground on 1200 Diehl Road, the former DeVry University site. The five-story project includes 306 apartments and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
What it tells us: Future retail along I-88 will likely be smaller, ground-floor space inside mixed-use buildings. Not stand-alone plazas. That means retail designed around residential structure above it: column grids, transfer beams, shared loading, and venting kitchens through a building that has homes on top.
For owners weighing new buildings vs reuse, see our guide on retail build-out vs ground-up construction.
7. 5th Avenue and the Metra Station
The city owns close to 15 acres of land around the 5th Avenue Metra station. Most of it is commuter parking. A 2019 plan with Ryan Companies was voted down, and later efforts stalled.
In 2025, an Urban Land Institute panel proposed a mix of commercial and residential space, a more plaza-like station area, and a market and event space north of the tracks. It also suggested the city could use a TIF district to help pay for infrastructure.
The council chose the I-88 study over 5th Avenue for 2026, so a master plan here is not moving this year. But one new state law could change the math when it does.
The New Parking Law Changes Site Design Near Train Stations
The Illinois People Over Parking Act took effect on June 1, 2026. It stops cities, including home-rule cities like Naperville, from requiring minimum parking for development projects near transit.
The basics:
- It covers projects within one-half mile of a rail station or one-eighth mile of a frequent transit corridor
- It applies to housing, commercial, and mixed-use projects
- Owners can still choose to build parking
- Cities can still set parking maximums
Why it matters in Naperville: The city has two Metra stations, 5th Avenue and Route 59. Retail and mixed-use sites near them may no longer need the large surface lots local code used to require.
For a developer, that can mean:
- More buildable area on the same lot
- Lower site costs for paving, lighting, and stormwater
- Smaller footprints that fit tighter parcels
- A bigger role for your own market study, since the code no longer sets the number for you
Parking is still a business decision. Many retail tenants will still want it in their lease. But the design starting point has changed. Our post on what investors look for before building a shopping plaza covers how parking and access affect tenant demand.
The Big Patterns in Naperville Retail Construction
Step back and five trends stand out.
1. Redevelopment beats new land. Block 59, Westridge Court, and Riverbrook are all old centers getting a second life. Ground-up greenfield retail is now the exception.
2. Restaurants are the new anchors. Dining and entertainment now drive traffic in places where department stores and big boxes used to.
3. Grocery is back as a turnaround tool. Specialty grocers like 99 Ranch can fill an empty anchor box and bring a whole center back to life.
4. National brands are picking Naperville. L.L.Bean chose it as one of eight new stores in 2026. Downtown keeps landing brands that are careful about opening new stores.
5. Zoning is catching up. The I-88 study and the state parking law will shape what gets built for the next decade.
What This Means for Your Naperville Project
Redevelopment projects bring their own risks. Plan for them early.
Budget for existing conditions. Old roofs, tired rooftop units, undersized electrical service, and outdated sprinklers are common in centers built in the 1980s and 1990s. Our guide to the hidden costs of retail construction covers the ones that catch owners off guard.
Expect utility upgrades for restaurants. Turning retail into restaurant space often means new gas service, grease interceptors, hood exhaust, and more electrical capacity.
Plan for accessibility upgrades. Remodeling an older space can require upgrades to entrances, restrooms, and parking, even when those are outside your lease line.
Build around live centers. Many projects happen while other tenants stay open. That means phasing, night work, safe walkways, and clear customer access.
Check the zoning first. On sites along I-88 or near a Metra station, the rules may be changing. Confirm what you can build before you design.
For typical costs and schedules, see our detailed guide: Shopping Plaza and Retail Construction in Naperville: What It Costs and How Long It Takes.
How Naperville Compares to Nearby Suburbs
Naperville is part of a bigger shift across the western suburbs. Dead offices and dated centers are being turned into new retail, dining, and mixed-use space all over the region.
- Oak Brook’s retail reinvention is replacing old office sites with retail
- Schaumburg’s construction boom is turning the former Motorola campus into a mixed-use district
- Aurora’s commercial growth is bringing new retail and entertainment next door
For the full metro picture, see Chicago Retail Construction 2026: What Is Actually Getting Built.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is new retail being built in Naperville?
Most new retail in Naperville is going into redeveloped shopping centers. The main areas are Block 59 and Westridge Court on Route 59, Riverbrook Shopping Center on North Aurora Road, downtown storefronts, and new mixed-use projects along the I-88 corridor.
What is Block 59 in Naperville?
Block 59 is a $53 million dining and entertainment district at Route 59 and Aurora Avenue, built by Brixmor Property Group. It replaced parts of the older Heritage Square and Westridge Court centers with new restaurant buildings and an outdoor event plaza.
When does L.L.Bean open in Naperville?
L.L.Bean opens on September 25, 2026 at 336 S. Route 59 in Westridge Court. The roughly 16,000-square-foot store fills the space formerly used by Bed Bath and Beyond.
What is happening with the I-88 corridor in Naperville?
In May 2026, the Naperville City Council voted to make the I-88 corridor its special planning study for the year. The study will create a land use plan and update outdated zoning. The goal is to bring new business uses to aging office areas instead of letting the corridor turn into housing only.
How does the People Over Parking Act affect Naperville?
The Illinois People Over Parking Act took effect June 1, 2026. It stops cities from requiring minimum parking for projects within one-half mile of a train station or one-eighth mile of a frequent transit corridor. In Naperville, that affects sites near the 5th Avenue and Route 59 Metra stations.
Is it better to build new or renovate an existing space in Naperville?
For most retail and restaurant tenants, renovating an existing space is faster and cheaper because the building, parking, and utilities already exist. Ground-up construction gives more control over layout and branding but takes longer and costs more. Open land for new retail in Naperville is also limited.
Planning a Commercial Project in Naperville?
Horizon Construction Team builds shopping plazas, strip malls, restaurants, and tenant buildouts across Naperville and the western suburbs. We know how to work inside older centers, plan around live tenants, and budget for the surprises redevelopment brings.
Learn more about our work as a Naperville retail construction company, or call (773) 858-3214 to get a free quote.
Sources: Daily Herald: I-88 special study | NCTV17: L.L.Bean opening date | Naperville Development Partnership: Riverbrook | NCTV17: Life Time Naperville | Urbanize Chicago: 1200 Diehl Road | Chicago Cityscape: People Over Parking Act
