Towering cost: Naperville carillon tower repair to cost at least $1.6M

Officials in west suburban Naperville say repairs to a 160-foot-tall tower that houses the well-known carillon on the city’s riverwalk could cost $1.6 million to about $3.8 million.

An assessment released of Moser Tower found that the tower’s structural steel is beginning to corrode, its precast concrete is cracking and the concrete’s mortar joints are facing deterioration.

Officials say repairs will be needed in the coming years.

The tower houses the Millennium Carillon. The multimillion-dollar project was built to commemorate the new millennium and was completed in 2007.

The assessment noted that changing temperatures make the steel expand and contract, resulting in cracks.

The tower’s original plan called for it to be enclosed in glass to protect it from the elements, but that was eliminated for financial reasons.

Naperville taxpayers will bear the cost of repairing the tower.

For now, the structure is not a hazard for those listening to carillon concerts or walking along the Riverwalk, Goeff Roehll, chairman of the city’s Riverwalk Commission told the Daily Herald.

“We know, right now, it’s safe,” Roehll said.

But the assessment proves action should be taken within the next few years, Novack said.