Aurora making more room for fireworks watching

Aurora leaders are set to approve a plan to provide additional space at RiverEdge Park to accommodate at least several hundred people who wish to view the city's annual Fourth of July fireworks display.

The city council Tuesday is scheduled to consider a plan that would add two-thirds of an acre to the park. The city last year bought and demolished former businesses on the site, including an auto shop and a law office, said Chief Development Services Officer Bill Wiet.

ComEd has completed environmental cleanup of a former manufactured gas plant at the site, Wiet said. And, now, the council must decide whether to authorize Semper Fi Land Services to remove existing soil and replace it with clean topsoil and sod by June 3, enabling it to be ready for foot traffic by the Fourth.

It is estimated that the new area, south and east of the stage, near Broadway Street, will accommodate several hundred seated RiverEdge Park guests or several thousand standing guests. The park, opened in 2013, is across Broadway Street from the Aurora Transportation Center and U.S. Post Office. It accommodates about 8,500 people for concerts, but an estimated 10,000 people watched last year's fireworks show.

The city bought the additional property for $720,000. Clearing the buildings of asbestos and tearing them down cost $66,000.

The city council's Tuesday vote is for site remediation and improvements, totaling almost $75,000, and for landscaping that will cost $303,000.

Entertainment at the park this summer will include Blues on the Fox on June 17 and 18, Kool & the Gang on June 24, Willie Nelson and Family on June 25 and The Beach Boys and Temptations on Aug. 5.