Aurora is moving forward with plans to redesign downtown’s Millennium Plaza to be more functional for everyday recreational activities but still accommodate small performances.
On April 8, the Aurora City Council approved as a part of its consent agenda a $218,300 contract with Hitchcock Design Group to continue redesigning the plaza. The consent agenda is typically used for routine or non-controversial items that are all approved with one vote and without discussion instead of needing to vote on and talk about each individual item.
Hitchcock Design Group has already been working on the redesign project throughout 2024 after it was selected for the project in September 2023. Construction on the project would likely start in 2026 and will likely cost the city roughly $2 million, Aurora Assistant Director of Public Works Jason Bauer told the Aurora City Council’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee on March 24.
Millennium Plaza was built in around 2000, but it is underutilized and could be laid out better, according to Bauer. He said the city held meetings with downtown groups and neighbors to see what they want out of the park and found that, while people want a space for concerts, they also want a place to walk their dog or eat a sandwich by the river.
Preliminary designs have already been made by Hitchcock Design Group, and those plans show that the existing plaza has a number of issues, including that the existing gazebo and Millennium Tower block the view of the river, the current stair and ramp configuration takes up a large area of the plaza and that the amphitheater seating limits usable space.
A number of opportunities were also highlighted in the plans, such as a possible expansion of the plaza features into the streetscape to compliment city events in the area, artistic expression on the tall buildings that frame the park and signs telling the history of an existing culvert on the river wall originally for an old mill.
The phase one renderings of the redesigned plaza show more integration with the existing streetscape, a pitched event lawn with nearby terraced seating and a performance pavilion, upper and lower terraces with tables and chairs, a boardwalk stretching out over the river, a dog park and many other changes.
Not included in the design was the Millennium Tower, which Bauer said will likely be taken down, though there are no concrete plans yet about what to do with it.
What is seen in early site plans may change as Hitchcock Design Group continues to work through the design and the budget is considered, according to Bauer.
He told the Infrastructure and Technology Committee on March 24 that many neighbors are excited about the project and want to see the space become more functional.
Ald. Brandon Tolliver, 7th Ward, said his first apartment out of college was in a nearby building, and yet he never visited the plaza, so he is also excited to see something done with it.
Work on the plaza was originally planned for 2024 and was even budgeted, but those funds were left out of the 2025 budget except what staff expected to pay for continued design services, Bauer said.
According to a staff report about the project included with the April 8 City Council meeting agenda, a major reconstruction project has been planned for the plaza for several years.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
