Sky’s the limit? Aurora mayor wants new high-rise downtown
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is thinking big for what to do with the downtown site of the Hollywood Casino Aurora when it moves to its new home on the outskirts of the city.
He wants a high-rise built in its place.
Irvin announced that Thursday night at the first of four State of the City addresses he is giving this year, a change from single speeches in previous years.
The first speech was about economic development. Others are planned later in the year on public safety and community engagement; education and workforce development; and innovation, technology and the future.
Irvin also said a new branding campaign for the downtown is coming, based on how Aurora is named for the Roman goddess of the dawn. He unveiled a new symbol depicting the goddess, and underscored it by having five women downtown business owners modeling as the goddess.
“She (the Aurora goddess) is stunning. She is vibrant. She is beautiful, and is representative of all of us,” Irvin said.
A high-rise would be the first in almost 100 years. The tallest building downtown is the Leland Tower, 22 stories, built in 1928.
“After a century, it’s past time we think beyond big and bold,” Irvin said. The city is seeking proposals in what he envisions as a “global competition,” he said.
Irvin gave his speech at Bloomhaven, the $129 million residential, educational and medical development that rehabilitated the long-vacant Copley Hospital.
“We are on the brink … like Aurora, the goddess of the dawn,” Irvin said of the city.
Irvin, whose second term ends in April 2025, said during his seven years in office, the city had done more in economic development “than past administrations have done collectively in 70 years.” Since he was elected in 2017, he said, the city’s assessed value has grown by $1 billion.
He cited project after project, including the new casino, a data center under construction, a public housing development for seniors, the new Stolp Island Theater, new restaurants downtown, the development of a Del Webb senior community on the southeast side and more.
A public works building on River Street downtown will be replaced by one on the far east side of the city, freeing up riverfront space for development, he said.
Irvin also said the city has received a proposal for a youth sports and entertainment complex to be built on 50 city-owned acres east of the Chicago Premium Outlets mall.
“I can unequivocally say that the current state of economic development in the City of Aurora is beyond historic,” Irvin said. “I’m doubling down by proclaiming Aurora is open for business. And because of it businesses small and large are opening in Aurora.”