Aurora City Council approves plan for hotel near Hollywood Casino site

The Aurora City Council recently approved an extended-stay hotel development near the new Aurora Hollywood Casino site after developers agreed to a few conditions that addressed concerns raised by council members.

Under the proposal approved last week, developer Holladay Properties plans to build a four-story 51,000-square-foot extended-stay ECHO Suites hotel by Wyndham with 124 rooms at 1300 and 1350 Corporate Blvd. in Aurora near North Farnsworth Avenue.

The hotel is also set to include a guest laundry room, a fitness room, vending areas and 136 parking spaces, according to plans.

The hotel is expected to open sometime between January and June of 2028, according to Guy Pisani, development manager for Holladay Properties.

The hotel development was set to be approved earlier this month, but the decision was delayed after some City Council members had concerns over whether the hotel aligns with the city’s vision for the area, which includes the new Hollywood Casino resort and the Chicago Premium Outlets mall.

“I do not believe that this is what we want to build next to a world class casino, our first property after building, having the casino built, be an extended stay hotel,” said Ald. Edward Bugg, 9th Ward.

Bugg said his concerns stemmed from what he said is a history of extended stay hotels in that area causing noise, safety and disturbance issues.

The city spent around $7 million a few years ago to purchase and demolish two problematic extended stay hotels on the property where the casino now stands, he said.

Bugg also said at an earlier meeting this month that the previous city administration under former mayor Richard Irvin had developed a possible conceptual plan for the corridor along Farnsworth Avenue.

But Tracey Vacek, the city’s director of zoning and planning, said the plan was only a draft, and the area is now substantially different then it was at the time.

In response to the council members’ concerns, the developer agreed to a few conditions proposed by the city, and all 12 aldermen voted in favor of the project Tuesday.

Those conditions require developer Holladay Properties to prohibit overnight semitruck or trailer parking on site, to meet with the Aurora Police Department twice a year to discuss and implement security measures at the property and to add a meeting space to the hotel to comply with an Aurora zoning ordinance.

A proposed fourth condition on the project was not approved Tuesday night.

Ald. Daniel Barreiro, 1st Ward, who represents the area where the hotel would be built, proposed the fourth condition out of concern that the property could be sold and used for something the city had not approved of, such as a downgraded hotel, he said.

Barreiro’s proposed condition would have limited the conditional use for the site to the current developer, which would have required any change in property ownership to be approved by the city. Ald. Juany Garza, 2nd Ward, supported the measure.

But Barreiro withdrew the motion after receiving pushback from several aldermen and a representative for the developer in attendance at the meeting, Duffey Phelps.

Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, said the proposed condition was unprecedented, and he worried it could discourage businesses from developing in the area. Ald. Patty Smith, 8th Ward, agreed and said she did not want the city to set that precedent.

“We’re in competition, and our competition around here is stiff, and we start doing stuff like this, we don’t compete anymore,” said Franco.

Phelps said it was a hard condition for a business to agree to, as it could affect the ability to sell the property in the future.

“You’re going to have a lot of issues attracting a hotel if you start putting conditions like that,” said Phelps. “It does really impact the presale potential of a hotel.”

Phelps also said he did not have legal representatives for the company at the meeting Tuesday to advise him and that the company had little time left before its Sept. 25 deadline with the seller of the property near North Farnsworth Avenue where the proposed hotel would be built.

“There’s a clock ticking,” said Phelps.

Phelps assured Barreiro that Holladay Properties has a 20-year franchise agreement with Wyndham to run ECHO Suites hotels, which he said could provide some stability for the project.

“I get it, you know, I’ve seen that casino go up, and it’s an important corridor for you all, and it’s a good location. That’s why we like it, and that’s why we think we could do very well there,” Phelps said.

The hotel development is one of the first to take advantage of a location near the new Hollywood Casino resort that opened in late June.

Now that the development has received city approval, Pisani said next steps include launching geotechnical and environmental studies for the site, along with releasing civil engineering and other site-specific plans to receive permits from the city. He said this process could take up to six months.

Then the company plans to select a general contractor and begin construction, which he said could take 10 to 11 months from the time work at the site starts.

“We want to get our plans completed and permits from the city as soon as possible so that we can get started on construction,” he said in a statement.

The development is projected to generate approximately $3.4 million in annual revenue for the company, along with over $300,000 in combined hotel tax, property tax and real estate tax revenues annually for the city, according to a document filed with the development proposal.

Company officials said they expect around 3,900 total check-ins a year, with guests staying on average between nine and 10 nights.

awright@chicagotribune.com