Aurora announces plan for sports complexes, housing near mall
An indoor sports complex and an esports facility will be built on 50 acres of city-owned land near the Chicago Premium Outlets mall, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin announced Friday.
The development could also include other uses, such as housing, Irvin said before revealing the companies selected to bring the vision to fruition.
Irvin announced the creation of the Aurora Premier Experience district that will also include the mall and the new Hollywood Aurora Casino, which is being built about three-quarters of a mile west of the site.
The city bought nine single-family home lots in 2020 for $9.8 million. Irvin said city officials were worried that the site “was at risk of becoming just another hub for truck traffic.” There is a Pepsi bottling plant between the site and the mall.
“We reimagined it,” Irvin said.
City officials thought about moving the Hollywood Aurora Casino there but decided on another location after residents raised concerns, Irvin said Friday.
He said Cordogan Clark and Associates architecture and design firm, LCI Development Partners, Card and Associates, and Harbour Contractors will partner on the plan. Harbour will develop the esports site. Card and Associates builds and operates athletic facilities, typically used by youth travel leagues.
Irvin said there will also be high-end and affordable housing on the site.
Irvin said it was too soon to discuss the projected cost or whether the city will give financial incentives, saying Friday’s news conference was about providing a high-level overview and introduction of the partners. He said the partners will now work on a plan over the next 90 to 100 days to present to the city council.
However, “it (the development) will be self-sustaining,” Irvin said.
The casino and part of the mall are in tax-increment financing districts.
In December 2023, Aurora put out a request for qualifications seeking a developer. Irvin said Friday the city received so many it decided to go with a team approach.
A question-and-answer addendum to the request for qualifications showed that one entity was interested in building a sports complex for lacrosse and youth soccer teams. It would have included outdoor turf fields and an indoor stadium. Another wanted to construct outdoor turf fields and baseball/softball diamonds. The city responded that it was not interested in outdoor fields and preferred an indoor multiuse sports facility.
Another indicated an interest in building affordable housing there.
A housing study by a consultant suggested that the site was good for rental apartments or owner-occupied townhouses.
Irvin did not say who had picked the firms.