Aldermen receive Aurora's plan to purchase YWCA

Aurora aldermen were presented Tuesday, for the first time, with the city's plan to purchase the YWCA lot.

The city wants to turn it into a temporary parking lot to accommodate as many as 732 vehicles in the downtown.

Mayor Tom Weisner first introduced his $6 million plan for the city to purchase the lot at last month's state of the city address.

The deal was made possible, in a time when the city has filled a $10 million budget hole with layoffs and budget cutbacks, by the cancellation of a long-term deal the city had with Hollywood Casino.

For several years, the city has provided three officers inside the casino around the clock. But the casino has offered to buy its way out of the agreement to the tune of $7 million.

"Over the past several years, the city, Hollywood Casino, the YWCA, and Waubonsee Community College have embarked on trying to look at a partnership that would allow for the acquisition of 7.6 acres, the YWCA site, to provide an opportunity for development for the site," said Chief Development Officer Bill Wiet. "Several years ago, a master plan was developed for this area that included hotels, conference centers, deck parking and retail offices. But in recent years both the casino and the city began negotiations with the YWCA for the riverfront property."

When the city demolishes the YWCA, likely early next year, they will build 732 parking spaces between the lots directly north and south of the property.

"What we would do when we add that 730 spaces to the northwest quadrant of downtown, we then have upward of 1,400 off-street parking spaces available," Wiet said. "The goal is to make it very active so that students, patrons of restaurants and the casino do a lot of coming and going."

Wiet cautioned, however, that should the city council approve the plan next week, this would be just the beginning as planners continue to search for a more permanent solution to downtown parking.