A $90 million condo and townhouse development that would integrate the old DuPage County courthouse might be headed to Wheaton.

Developers for the project, dubbed Courthouse Square, envision 256 living units with 444 parking spaces in and around the current home of National-Louis University.

Among other new details of the plan unveiled this week:

• The building facades would be varied and designed to blend with the downtown neighborhood.

• The courthouse would be restored and converted into 16 condominiums. The adjacent former state's attorney's offices would become a clubhouse with game and fitness rooms.

• The old jail would be razed.

• Most of the parking would be underground.

• Condos would be one to three bedrooms and would cost $175,000 to $405,000. Residency in the courthouse would cost about $500,000. That would also be the mid-range cost of any of the townhouses.

The project would take up to 4¨ years to build but add nearly $90 million of real estate to the city. The property currently has no monetary value to the city because, as a university, it's tax-exempt.

There are a few obstacles in the way.

City council members expressed concern about what impact the development would have on the adjacent skate park and mini-golf course, which just opened this month.

The National-Louis parking lot adjacent to the skate park would be replaced with buildings in the plan. Council members worried about emergency access to the skate park, as well as a reduction in parking for people using the facilities.

Developers said it would provide access through a courtyard with a drop-off area for skateboarders.

The park district views the redevelopment of the area as a positive and isn't concerned about the loss of some parking.

"We never planned on having that whole big parking lot for our exclusive use, anyhow," said parks Director Robert Dunsmuir. "We'll be good neighbors, and we think they'll be good neighbors."

A plus for the park district would be the proposed removal of a ComEd substation, he said. That portion of the plan has yet to be negotiated with ComEd.

Then there's the money.

Developers said they may ask the city to contribute tax increment financing dollars to the project.

If such a TIF district is established, it would freeze the tax assessment for the property. New tax dollars generated by the development, which would usually benefit local government, schools and libraries, would be used to help cover the cost of the project. When the TIF district expires, those entities then would get the added tax dollars.

Wheaton would either have to extend a current TIF district or create a new one, City Manager Don Rose said.

An existing TIF district ends about a block away from the National-Louis site.

Rose said he's seen some TIF districts that are site-specific but couldn't think of any that were solely residential.

A new TIF district would be the city's third. It could include the entire site or exclude the townhouses so local taxing bodies would see some immediate tax benefit, Rose said.

"The ultimate decision is with the city council," he said.

Any construction would require National-Louis University to move out first. College spokesman Christian Anderson said the university is still targeting a December move date.

The university hasn't signed any final contracts for a new home, but negotiations "are close" Anderson said.

He wouldn't say where the university will move, but school officials have said they want to maintain a campus in DuPage County and have talked of relocating to Lisle.