The Aurora City Council is set to vote on a contract for roadwork along Farnsworth Avenue, Bilter Road and Church Road, much of it connected to the new Hollywood Casino-Aurora resort.
Aldermen next Tuesday will vote on a $19.5 million contract with low-bidder R.W. Dunteman Co., of Addison, for the roadwork.
They also will vote on about a $1.9 million construction engineering contract with HR Green, Inc., of Aurora, to oversee the work. The city has already worked with HR Green overseeing traffic studies done for the area.
Much of the work is tied to the Hollywood Casino-Aurora resort project underway, although the city has been planning for all the roadwork needed in that area through 2050, not just the casino.
In addition to the casino resort project underway, the city owns land further east on Bilter Road that will be developed, some into mixed uses, some into housing.
The $19.5 million was higher than the estimated $16 million the city had planned for the work, which means officials are looking at truncating some of the work – changing some things and delaying others – to afford it.
Ald. John Laesch, at large, asked at this week’s Committee of the Whole meeting that the vote on the construction contract be put on unfinished business for next week’s regular City Council meeting.
Laesch repeated what he said during a meeting last week that the city could possibly use $16 million in settlement money the city got from Cyrus One connected to the project for their new data center on the far East Side.
He said if that money were put toward the road construction “it would reduce the burden on the taxpayers.”
He also said it could go toward a project like the Orchard Road sound wall “where we ask the residents to pay, and I don’t see the primary beneficiaries of this are paying anything into the pot.”
That comment prompted Mayor Richard Irvin to say “the primary beneficiaries are the residents of Aurora, when streets and roads are fixed in the city of Aurora.”
Laesch was likely referring to the primary beneficiaries being the casino, which has given the city $2 million toward the roadwork as part of its redevelopment agreement with the city.
The city also has $2.5 million in federal funds committed to the projects and will be seeking more. The tax increment financing district for the casino site could pay for some of it, too.
Also, the city will get an estimated $2 million to $2.5 million in interest off the proceeds from the $58 million bond issue the city passed as part of the casino redevelopment agreement.
The proceeds come from the fact the city has passed the bond issue already, but has not yet paid the casino the $50 million toward the overall $360 million project.
Payment will be done based on a series of benchmarks the casino must meet first. In the meantime, the city is earning interest off the proceeds.
Officials have said the city is hoping to have much of the roadwork done by around Thanksgiving 2025. The timing is to have the work done by Black Friday, because it is a big weekend for Chicago Premium Outlets mall.
slord@tribpub.com
