North Aurora OKs demolition of Activity Center

NORTH AURORA The North Aurora Activity Center will soon see the wrecking ball.

Trustees voted Monday to approve a $355,739 contract with Site Recovery Services Inc. to demolish the building at 1 N. Lincolnway. The North Aurora Activity Center has been closed since March because of structural damage. Trustees in May decided the building was not worth saving.

The village will pay for the demolition from the insurance money received for the villages property loss $68,764 as well as funds from the closing of the North Aurora Activity Center fund $92,002. Other funds will come from reserves in the villages capital projects fund.

Demolition of the building is expected to start in early February, following asbestos removal and the removal of underground storage tanks, Village Administrator Steve Bosco said.

Trustees on Monday also approved an ordinance permitting village staff to dispose of or sell surplus items from the building.

Some of the items such as bricks with carvings may be retained by the village for historical purposes and other bricks can be made available for residents who would like to have a historical memento of the building, Bosco told village trustees.

The building is not currently within a tax increment financing district, but the TIF statutes provide that costs associated with redevelopment, including demolition costs, may be eligible for future reimbursements with TIF funds if those costs are included as part of a future redevelopment plan, North Aurora Finance Director Bill Hannah told trustees.

Trustees on Monday also approved an ordinance approving the demolition costs for reimbursement through tax increment financing funds.

It doesnt obligate you, it simply provides the mechanism in the future, Hannah said.

Share and Care Learning Center, which was one of the main tenants in the North Aurora Activity Center, found a new permanent home in the former Rainbow Tile building at 12 John St. in North Aurora.

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North Aurora OKs demolition of Activity Center