At the latest Naperville Riverwalk Commission meeting, the group voted in favor of recommending repairing Moser Tower. Their recommendation comes after being presented the final report, which included three options for the 160-foot-tall structure.
Options For Moser Tower
“Alternative one is basically to repair it. Alternative two is to enclose and repair it, and alternative 3 is to take it down over time, run the car in to ground, take it down when it hits that point,” said Bill Novack, the director of Transportation, Engineering and Development for the City of Naperville.
Repairing Moser Tower would cost about $2.3 million in total. Repairing it and enclosing it would cost about $3 million. Both of these figures include annual maintenance costs over 30 years.
The last option would be demolishing the roughly 19-year-old structure for $726,000, but the cost could be higher if Moser Tower isn’t taken down within a year, as yearly maintenance costs are about $28,000.
Ultimately all commissioners agreed repairing the structure in one phase was the best option.
“I think the investment we’re going to make on this and knowing what we have to invest, in addition to what we’ve already invested every year was something I was hoping that would be a part of the outcome and it was,” said Riverwalk commission chairman Geoff Roehll.
Moser Tower’s Assessments Over The Years
The need for action on Moser Tower was first discovered after assessments in 2015 found the structure had steel corrosion and cracks throughout. At that time, estimated costs for repairing it were about $3 million, but didn’t include maintenance costs.
Since then the structure was assessed multiple times, and parts of the building were tested to determine the root cause of Moser Tower’s deterioration.
“It’s an outdoor structure and parts of it weren’t designed to be outdoors,” said Novack. “The cracks of the concrete we figured out were caused by gypsum that had fallen into the grout pockets.”
Though that delayed a recommendation to city council, Riverwalk commissioners said it was better to be sure about final costs before voting.
“I’m appreciative of the additional research that the city has done because that results in a reduction in the delta between option one and option three,” said Riverwalk commissioner John Joseph. “It’s now I think a $600,000 difference over the life of 30 years, which is about $20,000 a year.”
Community members, representatives from the Naperville Park District and city council, who were at the Riverwalk meeting also agreed the first alternative was the best option for Moser Tower.
The recommendation will now go to city council for a final vote.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
If you have a story idea or news tip you want to share, we want to hear from you!
