Group to have forum on proposed Campana apartment project
A community group supporting more affordable housing in the Fox Valley is hosting a forum Monday about the proposed Campana apartment project.
The Fox River Valley Initiative has invited the developer, Evergreen Real Estate Group, to speak at the session and to answer questions.
It is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Congregational Church of Batavia, 21 S. Batavia Ave. (Route 31).
Evergreen proposes to put 80 apartments in the former factory at 901 N. Batavia Ave., and 64 of them would be designated as affordable housing. Evergreen has received an allocation of federal funds for its plan. The Aurora Housing Authority would oversee applications for the affordable units.
The site would have to be rezoned, and some variations have been requested, including one to have less parking than city code requires. No hearing has been set yet on the matter.
The Fox River Valley Initiative consists of representatives of seven churches, a mental health advocacy group, two shelters for the homeless, local teachers unions, a housing agency and the Ecker Center for Mental Health.
An opposition campaign, called "No to Campana," has sprung up, with a website and yard signs. Its anonymous leaders say turning the building in to apartments could decrease the safety of the nearby Fabyan Parkway and Batavia Avenue intersection and that residents would use side streets in nearby residential neighborhoods. They also note that some of the businesses in the building would be forced to leave.
Organizers of the group have refused requests to identify themselves, and the website's registry is protected by a domain privacy service.
The yestocampana.com website is run by Evergreen.