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Aurora to redevelop former Wisconsin Avenue school into $50 million "Beacon" wellness hub; council approves deed changes and PILOT
Summary
Aurora Healthcare will invest about $50 million to convert the long-vacant 2708 West Wisconsin Avenue school into a neighborhood wellness hub called the Beacon. The Common Council committee approved termination/amendment of prior deed restrictions and a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement that secures the city's property-tax share.
Aurora Healthcare plans to invest nearly $50 million to convert the long-vacant former Wisconsin Avenue school at 2708 W. Wisconsin Ave. into a community wellness and services center called the Beacon, city and Aurora representatives told the committee on March 18.
The redevelopment proposal, presented by Aurora and the Department of City Development, prompted the committee to approve a package of land-use changes: termination or amendment of deed restrictions tied to the site's 2017 sale and a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement that will assure the city receives the city-share of property taxes if Aurora or its tenants qualify for tax-exempt status.
Aurora officials said the Beacon will provide a mix of health- and social-service programs identified through more than a dozen community engagement sessions. Services under design include prenatal and postnatal support, violence prevention, eviction and housing assistance, fresh-food access, chronic-disease prevention and early childhood programming. Aurora said the project team expects to break ground in about 12 months and begin offering services roughly 12 months after that, targeting spring 2027 for initial programming.
The Department of City Development described the property assembly: Aurora will expand into an adjacent, previously nontaxable parcel and execute a certified survey map to combine parcels. DCD staff said the expansion includes roughly 42,670 square feet of land west of the school that had not been taxable while in county ownership.
Committee members and neighborhood partners, including Near West Side Partners, expressed support. Alderman Robert Bauman, who sponsored the file, said the facility fills a need on the near West Side and thanked Aurora for negotiating a PILOT rather than seeking full tax-exempt treatment. Aurora's representatives said they had conducted 14 community sessions involving about 200 residents and had letters of support from neighborhood leaders submitted into the committee record.
The committee voted to approve the staff-recommended resolutions and agreements; the motion was moved by Alderman Bauman and carried without objection.
Aurora and DCD said the team will continue resident engagement as the design and program details are refined; a more detailed development schedule and execution of the PILOT and related survey maps were listed as next steps.
The approved package does not transfer the city's property tax obligations for other taxing jurisdictions; under the agreement the PILOT covers the city's share of property taxes while county, school district and other levies remain subject to their separate rules, per DCD staff.
