Aurora City Council members unanimously approved purchasing three downtown properties for future economic development purposes.
Members approved spending no more than $1.45 million on the three properties located in different places throughout the downtown area at the Dec. 20 City Council meeting.
The properties are the former Joseph Corporation parking lot at 16 S. LaSalle St.; 101 N. River St., known as the BeeBee Property, on the northeast corner of River and New York Street; and the Fox River Hotel, which is contained in eight parcels at 302 to 316 N. River St., and 109 to 155 Cedar St.
The properties are vacant or soon-to-be vacant and up for sale in areas city officials identified as strategic spots for economic development.
Exactly what the properties would be used for ultimately is unsure. According to a memo by Aurora Economic Development Director David Dibo, the city is looking at the Joseph Corporation parking lot for more downtown parking.
“As redevelopment occurs in the downtown, additional surface lot parking may be needed for public use to support restaurants and local businesses,” the memo said.
The money for the purchases will come mostly from funds in Tax Increment Financing District One, which is closing at the end of the year. Some of the money will come from the city’s general fund reserves.
The breakdown for each property is $750,000 for the Fox River Hotel parcels, $150,000 for the BeeBee property and $550,000 for the former Joseph Corporation parking lot property.
Martin Lyons, the former city finance director who serves as a TIF consultant to the city at times, told City Council Finance Committee members the purchases are strategic both from a geographic perspective and a time perspective because there are funds available from the District One TIF.
“The BeeBee property is a small property and is on the south end of the three lots we have running along the west bank of the Fox River,” Lyons said. “We want to control this property so that as we develop around the horn to the casino, we have control of as much property as we can to have a seamless development.”
Two tenants remain in the Fox River Hotel, so the city will likely wait and it could be “several months before we actually close” on the property, Lyons previously said.
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