Unfinished motor sports store to come down

A wrecking company will soon demolish a company's dream of opening a motor sports equipment store in North Aurora.

The village hired a firm Monday night for $7,840 to knock down the unfinished North Aurora Motor Sports building on Garden Way near Orchard Gateway Boulevard, west of Orchard Road.

The building is one of two unfinished commercial projects that stopped in 2008, as banks foreclosed on the properties.

Construction on the motorcycle store started in 2008 and stopped more than a year ago, according to Scott Buening, North Aurora's community development director. The bank holding its mortgage filed for foreclosure in December 2008.

The village has sought for several months to have the building's walls knocked down, believing the site is dangerous. Buening said walls have cracked, mortar in the foundation masonry is falling out, and wood braces for the walls are missing or rotting.

A judge recently granted permission for the building to be knocked down. The bank will pay the bill upfront, Buening said. A contractor who is owed money by the developer is going to salvage some of the masonry and try to use it again. The building will be demolished within a month, Buening said.

He expects the property to be sold by the Kane County sheriff in June or July.

The situation at the Randall Crossings strip shopping center site on Orchard west of Randall Road is different, Buening said. The building is in better shape because construction was farther along, including having a roof, which provides some protection from the elements. The bank that took it over is interested in completing it, Buening said.