Parts of some roads reopen, structural report ongoing in wake of partial building collapse in downtown Aurora
Parts of some streets in downtown Aurora that were closed after a building partially collapsed on the 100 block of East Galena Boulevard on Wednesday evening have reopened, according to a statement from city officials on Friday.
Businesses near the collapsed building, except for Leon’s barber shop, were open for normal hours as of Friday.
The holiday schedule of shows at the Paramount Theatre, located near the collapsed building on Galena Boulevard, will go on as planned, said Tim Rater, president of the Paramount, on Friday.
Rater advised patrons to build in some extra travel time for increased traffic when coming to the theater.
An independent structural engineer is currently compiling a report examining the structural integrity of the partially-collapsed building, city officials said. The city will continue evaluating reopening more of the impacted roads based on the examination of the building, officials said.
As of midday Friday, Galena Boulevard was open for eastbound traffic at Broadway. Westbound Galena Boulevard was still closed to traffic in an effort to keep vehicles safe from the partially- collapsed building, according to the city statement.
Southbound traffic on Broadway was also open at Galena Boulevard. Northbound traffic on Broadway in the area was still closed, officials said.
Vehicles approaching the intersection of Galena Boulevard and Broadway can travel through the area while going eastbound, or by making a right-hand turn onto Broadway to travel southbound, as of midday Friday, according to the statement.
Broadway was still closed between New York Street and Galena Boulevard to through traffic as of midday Friday. Between Downer Place and Galena Boulevard, Broadway was also still closed if traveling northbound.
City officials advised drivers to exercise caution when traveling through this area of downtown Aurora.
Cleanup work on the partially-collapsed building continued Friday, city officials said.
The building collapsed at approximately 6:37 p.m. Wednesday, leaving three people with minor injuries during the incident. Also at the time of the building collapse, six people were in Leon’s barber shop on the building’s ground floor, and those individuals self-evacuated, according to city officials.
Security camera footage provided by the city appears to show a number of cars on nearby Broadway just before the building collapsed. Several cars were set to drive on Galena Boulevard in front of the building but sat stopped at a red light. Footage also appears to show the building and its scaffolding collapsing on a parked car and into Galena Boulevard.
The Aurora Police Department, Aurora Emergency Management Agency and Aurora Street Maintenance Division responded to manage traffic and set up multiple street closures to help during the cleanup process, according to the release.
The cause of the partial building collapse has yet to be determined, but it is not related to a 2025 incident at the same building where a small section of its brick facade fell into the roadway, city officials have said.
Initial security camera video suggests the building’s roof collapsed, causing the scaffolding and portions of the building to also come down, officials said.
The city did not have updates Friday on the reasons behind the building’s partial collapse, the timeline for when the impacted roads could fully reopen or details on what could happen with the building itself.
The building owners did not respond to requests for comment as of mid-afternoon Friday.
awright@chicagotribune.com