A structure believed to be Naperville’s only remaining historic summer kitchen may have a path to preservation.

The homeowner of the house and detached summer kitchen at 337 N. Sleight St. wants to raise the 16-foot-tall outbuilding about six feet to build a garage below it.

The request came to the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission at its most recent meeting because if built, the new garage and summer kitchen combo would be 22 feet tall. That’s four feet above the 18-foot height limit for accessory structures in the R2 residential zoning district.

The summer kitchen at 337 N. Sleight St. is believed to be the only remaining building of its kind in Naperville. It could be preserved if the Naperville City Council approves a height variance allowing it to be raised so a garage can be built underneath. (Marie Wilson/Naperville Sun)

Anna Franco, of the city’s planning services team, said city staff members support the height variance request, calling the proposal “a creative solution” to preserve the historic summer kitchen while also modernizing the property with a garage.

Commissioners agreed, unanimously endorsing the request and sending it to the Naperville City Council for consideration with a positive recommendation.

“I loved hearing that it wasn’t going to be torn down,” Commissioner Allison Longenbaugh said about the summer kitchen, which is painted a shade of turquoise and sits to the west of the house at Sleight and Fourth streets. “It’s just such a cool house, so I am definitely in support and I really thank you for making the attempt to save it.”

Property owner Lisa Coronel wrote in her petition to the city that the summer kitchen “is believed to be the only remaining building of its kind in Naperville, having been moved to the site in the 1940s.”

Summer kitchens were common before air-conditioning systems became popular because they allowed cooking and other chores that generate heat to take place outside, preserving cooler air inside the main house.

“I don’t want to build a new garage in place of the historic summer kitchen because it would remove an important part of Naperville’s built history,” Colonel wrote.

Naperville Preservation Inc. helped Colonel research summer kitchens before she submitted her petition to the city. The group’s secretary, Jane Ory Burke, said it is known “from early fire maps that homes in Sleight’s addition (an area that’s part of the city’s current historic district) that a number of homes had outbuildings such as summer kitchens.”

Detached garages remain common in the area, and the proposal to build one at 337 N. Sleight would help the property come into compliance with two portions of city code related to setbacks and parking, Franco said.

Colonel’s plan would move the summer kitchen to meet a 5-foot setback requirement, instead of sitting 3.5 feet from the property line as it does now. And adding a garage would meet another code requirement that says at least one enclosed parking space must be provided per property in the R2 district.

The proposal would result in a 530-square-foot structure with a garage and a new “lean-to summer kitchen addition on the first floor and a lifted summer kitchen on the second floor,” Franco said.

The city council will decide whether to approve the height variance request that would allow these changes to be made.

“I think it’s awesome that you’re working on this property,” Commissioner Whitney Robbins said, addressing Colonel before the commission’s positive vote. “It’s a very cool house.”

Marie Wilson is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/28/naperville-commission-summer-kitchen-historic/