The city of Aurora announced Friday that it will be naming the area planned to include a proposed new 50-acre mixed-use development, the Chicago Premium Outlets mall and the new location of the Hollywood Casino-Aurora, as the Aurora Premier Experiences District.
“With the APEX District, we’re creating a once-in-a-generation destination that will define our city’s future for decades to come,” Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin said at a press conference on Friday.
The new district, which will be on the city’s northern edge near the interchange of Interstate 88 and Farnsworth Avenue, will be “different from anything within the Chicagoland region,” according to Irvin.
He said that, in addition to the “premier shopping experience” currently offered at the outlet mall and the “world-class entertainment” set to be offered at the casino resort, the district would also one day hold a “cutting-edge sports complex for athletes of all ages,” a variety of dining options, a “futuristic e-gaming facility” and housing that would range from high-end to affordable.
Those other “premier experiences” to one day be included within the district would go on 50 acres of city-owned land bordered by Bilter Road to the north, Big Woods Forest Preserve to the east and the Chicago Premium Outlets mall to the south and west, officials said.
The city first bought the land back in 2019 and annexed it into the city in 2021. The site was once considered for the new location of the Hollywood Casino-Aurora, but those plans were changed after the city heard residents’ concerns about the location, Irvin said on Friday.
In 2023, Aurora put out a request for qualifications to find developers who were willing to develop the land according to the city’s vision for the area.
An informational packet put together for the request showed that the city’s vision for the 50 acres in 2023 was a mixed-use development with four distinct parts – around 16 acres for residential development; around 14 acres for an indoor sports complex; around 7 acres for hotels, restaurants or entertainment and around 9 acres for stormwater management.
The idea was to place the residential development on the west site of the property to create a transition of uses from the existing residences on the west of the property to the Chicago Premium Outlets mall on the east side of the property, Aurora’s Chief Management Officer Alex Alexandrou told The Beacon-News after the press conference on Friday.
A master plan for the site is still in development, but the city announced on Friday the four companies that would be working together on the proposed development of the site: Cordogan Clark, LCI Development Partners, Card & Associates and Harbour Contractors.
“The potential here is immense, and it’s an honor to continue to shape the future of Aurora,” Chad Broderick of LCI Development Partners said at the press conference. “With the Bilter Road project, we’re not just developing a site. We’re creating a thriving mixed-use district that will compliment and enhance the existing Chicago Premium Outlets and soon-to-be-delivered Hollywood Casino resort.”
One of the most exciting aspects of the project is the opportunity to expand the housing options within Aurora, Broderick said. The goal is to “create spaces where people can live, play and thrive in a dynamic well-connected community,” he said.
Card & Associates would be developing the proposed project’s sports complex, which is expected to bring in 100,000 visitors each month, according to Dan Connors, the company’s executive vice president of real estate development. He said that, typically, the company’s facilities range in size from around 150,000 square feet to 250,000 square feet and are primarily based around youth athletics.
“We have a huge draw with national tournament users, and we’ve very excited about the position of this entire development and the synergy it’s going to bring for all the different groups here,” Connors said.
The Aurora Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has in recent years pivoted to focus primarily on sports marketing, according to its Executive Director Cort Carlson. Since then, the organization has grown the region into a “$274 million visitor experience and economic impact for all of our communities,” and this development would only help to expand that impact, he said.
“Our vision and our destination is the premier Midwest sports destination for youth and amateur competitions,” Carlson said.
The proposed development would also offer other ways for youth to get competitive, as Harbour Contractors would be developing the project’s e-gaming or esports facility. According to the presentation at Friday’s press conference, the facility would “support competitive gaming, offer educational programs and generate a steady stream of revenue while being inclusive and accessible to all.”
Patrick Harbour of Harbour Contractors said the plan is to collaborate with local schools and colleges on the project.
Overall, the proposed development is set to be an “economic engine” and a substantial increase to the city’s tax base, according to Irvin.
Now that the four companies have been chosen to work on the proposed 50-acre mixed-use development, they will have a roughly 90- to 120-day period to work together and do their due diligence, Irvin said. Then, the project will come before the Aurora City Council, where specifics of the plan will be discussed, he said.
At that time, the city will also consider what it needs to do to ensure the success of the project, Irvin said after he was asked if the city plans to provide the development with any economic incentives. However, he did say that the development would be “self-sustaining” and likely bring in millions of people each year.
The other two major developments within the newly-announced APEX District, the Chicago Premium Outlets mall and the new Hollywood Casino-Aurora, were incentivized using tax increment financing, or TIF, districts. Aurora officials have previously called the TIF district that supported the development of the Chicago Premium Outlets one of the most successful in state history.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
