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Aurora committee approves $5.75 million increase to downtown redevelopment deal after costly site cleanup
Summary
The finance committee approved a third amendment to the redevelopment agreement for 100 North Broadway, increasing the city's participation by roughly $5.75 million to cover higher construction and verified environmental remediation costs; developers said the project remains underway.
The Aurora Finance Committee on Monday moved forward with a third amendment to the redevelopment agreement for 100 North Broadway that raises the city's commitment from about $6.84 million to $12.59 million, an increase of roughly $5.75 million intended to help close a financing gap created by higher construction costs and unexpectedly extensive site remediation.
City officials and the project team told the committee the developer has already invested into the project and that the additional city funds respond to documented changes found once excavation began. "It's an increase in the city's participation from the original approval ... to 12,590,500 or an additional $5,750,000," Speaker 11 told the committee during the presentation.
Development staff and the general contractor detailed how demolition and prior site fills left buried masonry, sub-basements and contaminated soils that were not fully apparent in preconstruction borings. "We had to go down. I think it's 143 piles had to be driven in to the ground now," Josh Raim, director of development services, said, describing foundation redesigns and added materials. Contractors added substantial rebar and concrete and said contaminated soils had to be hauled to a special facility because of IEPA requirements; one contractor reported the soil had to be transported about 43 miles to an approved landfill.
The committee heard a line-item accounting from staff indicating about $4,060,000 of the increased request is attributable to verified environmental and foundation remediation costs discovered during excavation. Speaker 11 said the project's private lending commitments also shrank as costs rose, forcing the developer to add more expensive mezzanine financing to complete the capital stack.
Developer Danny Resco said the team has 'put significant private capital into the site and remained committed to finishing it. "We're well underway. We're under construction. We purchased the property and we started construction. We have approximately $8,000,000 into the project," Resco said.
Staff framed the city contribution as part of a bifurcated ask: roughly $4.06 million tied to remediation and a remaining portion tied to cost- and financing-related increases where the city structured share-back provisions so the city could recover some funds if the project outperformed projections. Speaker 11 described mechanisms that would share upside with the city if returns exceed defined thresholds.
After questions about timing, cost verification and long-term benefits, the committee approved the amendment in a recorded committee vote. The project team said construction is underway, expects to deliver in 2026, and projects roughly 258 units in a five-story, mixed-use building.
The approval advances the amendment to the next committee/council steps specified under the RDA process; the amendment changes milestones and schedule and increases city obligations documented in the Legistar packet.
