West Aurora District 129 reveals plan for new headquarters, training center

A west side Aurora site will become the new home of the West Aurora School District 129 headquarters and its Todd Early Learning Center, in a multi-partner deal involving Advocate Dreyer Medical Clinic and the City of Aurora.

The school district is buying the building at 1870 W. Galena Blvd. from Advocate Dreyer, for $600,000. That is less than half of its estimated fair market value, according to Kane County property tax bills.

The city is giving Advocate Dreyer a $150,000 tax credit in exchange for Advocate Dryer reducing the price. The city will take over the current school district headquarters at 80 S. River St. And the school district will buy another building, at 1877 W. Downer Place, for $3.16 million, to house its headquarters.

The district's purchases will create a 15-acre campus near Galena Boulevard and Edgelawn Drive.

Besides the new headquarters and the early learning center which will be at the Galena address, the campus will house the new Weisner Family Career and Technical Education Center.

"This facility will enable more interaction with district administration and staff, students and parents," District 129 Superintendent Jeff Craig. "We are being more cost-efficient by transitioning into existing facilities as opposed to building new or investing in our current aging infrastructure."

Voters in April agreed to let the district borrow $84 million for building expansions, renovations and construction, including the possibility of building a new headquarters and early learning center.

Advocate plans to start moving in the spring to a new 75,000-square-foot building, currently under construction at 2285 Sequoia Drive on the northwest side of Aurora. The city agreed to grant it a parking variance for its new building, in exchange for Advocate agreeing to find a new tenant for the old building within a year, or tear it down. The building is 51 years old.

The school district expects to spend about a year renovating the Advocate Dreyer building, and move the early learning center there in 2017. The building will also house some classes for the career and technical education center. The vocational center will also have a new building.

The headquarters would move by the start of the 2016 school year. The district says the current headquarters, in a 92-year-old building, requires $800,000 worth of repairs.

'Win-win-win'

The city plans to get someone to commercially redevelop the River Street building, to get it back on the property tax rolls.

"This is a win-win-win for all involved because we know all too well the difficulties of repurposing medical buildings and special use facilities like the current District 129 headquarters," Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner said. "As a major employer, District 129 will provide immediate economic stability to the West Galena corridor, as the city works to put the current building back on the tax rolls. Working together, we can strengthen Aurora's future economic advantage through the building of a new Career and Technical Center, which will provide today's students invaluable opportunities as they prepare to become tomorrow's workforce. We are here today because District 129 parents and taxpayers chose to invest in Aurora's most important resource - our children."

Weisner was surprised the center was named after his family. "It's not often that I'm speechless," he told the crowd at the news conference. School board President Robert Gonzalez said it was named after the Weisners in recognition of the mayor's work to bring the Pathways to Prosperity Program to fruition.

The new training center will be for students who want to pursue dual credit classes, job training and career certifications in advanced manufacturing, information technology and health occupations. It will be part of the citywide Pathways to Prosperity program to prepare students for work.

Currently, West Aurora students travel 19 miles to the Fox Valley Career Center at Kaneland High School in Maple Park for vocational education.

The school district expects to break ground on the center as soon as summer 2016.

Complete plans for the proposed West Aurora School District Campus are available at sd129.org.