Improving downtown North Aurora tops' candidates' lists

The status of "downtown" North Aurora continues to interest people running for the North Aurora village board.

Four men are seeking three four-year terms: incumbents Michael Lowery and Mark Gaffino, and Garran Sparks and Tao Martinez.

Gaffino has been on the board since 2005; Lowery, since 2013.

Sparks was an alderman in Batavia for 10 years, until moving to North Aurora in 2014. "I think I can contribute (experience)," Sparks said.

Martinez has run twice for Kane County coroner.

While developers are showing lots of interest in the Randall Road/Orchard Road area, the downtown along Route 31 remains a hodge-podge. And it doesn't take advantage of its proximity to the Fox River, all four agree.

Lowery said residents throughout town talk about Route 31 and the riverfront. He describes Route 31 as his "pet project."

"I want to see that reflect the demographic of North Aurora," he said. The village is "clearly middle class," he said, but the businesses on Route 31 don't show that. The main intersection at State Street features a liquor store and payday loan place on one corner, a convenience store on another, and a large empty lot on a third. There's a patchwork of sidewalks, and the only pedestrian access to the river is off State.

"Route 31 is our main avenue," Martinez said. He would like it populated with nicer-looking businesses, similar to ones seen on Orchard Road near Oak Street, he said.

The downtown has been home to used-car lots, martial-arts studios, a bar and a medical marijuana dispensary, among other uses. Lowery doesn't want any more automotive businesses there.

"North Aurora needs an identity downtown, someplace for people to come to," said Sparks. "It has a lot of potential."

"Route 31 has always kind of looked like that," said Gaffino, a lifelong resident, and says for a long time the village took the river "for granted."

He would prefer to see boutiques and restaurants. One way would be for the village to buy more of the lots, so it can be choosier about how they are redeveloped, Gaffino said. "It takes money," he said.

The village should also consider selling village hall, with its scenic view, to businesses such as a restaurant or artists' studio. A new village hall could be placed elsewhere downtown, he said.

Lowery supports the village's effort to develop Silo Park in back of Harner's Restaurant, where a silo reminds people that the village was founded by a guy who built a mill for grain. He also wants the village to improve Riverfront Park, which it recently acquired from the Fox Valley Park District, to attract more people. The village recently reviewed a plan for $5 million worth of improvements to the park, which is between Village Hall and the river.

Martinez supports the plan to improve the park. It will be an attractive amenity for family recreation, something people tell him the village needs, he said. "Once you see that improvement, you are going to see (related) businesses opening throughout" the river area, he said.

"It is going to be gorgeous," Lowery said. " ... The reality of the cost, however, might deter a few."

Martinez said he is running because he wants to "be a part of the change" in the community, and to set an example for his children. "We all have a civic duty and if we don't take that in to our own hands, nobody will do it for us," he said.