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Developers present 278,000‑sq‑ft Slaker Farm concept; trustees split on moving forward
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Summary
Seafreed Properties presented a concept plan for 24 acres at 136 S. Lincoln Way that would include a 278,000‑square‑foot speculative warehouse and a retail outlot. Trustees raised traffic and visual‑impact concerns, asked for renderings and a traffic study, and provided mixed conceptual support; staff will return with refined plans.
Seafreed Properties told the North Aurora Committee of the Whole on April 20 that it is under contract to buy the 24‑acre Slaker Farm at 136 South Lincoln Way and is proposing a mixed‑use plan with a 278,000‑square‑foot speculative warehouse behind a retail outlot.
"We have a 9‑month due‑diligence period," said Dave Riefe of Seafreed Properties, describing the company's history in the Chicago region and saying the developer would need rezoning and a planned‑unit development approval. He said the site is about a quarter‑mile north of the I‑88 interchange and that the frontage is envisioned for local retail with industrial uses behind.
Reid Rossberger, Seafreed’s project lead, described a building roughly 260 feet deep with glass curtain‑wall entrances and design features to break up massing along Lincoln Way. On truck traffic he said the building is being designed with 30 docks and estimated "roughly 2 turns a day on those" per dock, or "60 trucks a day" (about three per hour), a figure he said would be refined in a traffic‑impact study.
Trustees repeatedly raised traffic, safety and aesthetic concerns. One trustee said residents "frown upon" warehouses and another called the site "the gateway of the community" and said a 40‑foot building could be very visible. Several trustees asked whether the developer had considered acquiring the adjacent southern property to separate truck circulation from retail frontage; the developer said negotiations had not reached agreement.
Trustees suggested mitigation measures — landscaping, screening, renderings from key sightlines and a traffic study — and split roughly evenly when staff took a straw count: some members favored continuing to the next phase, others were opposed or undecided. Developers said they would return with renderings and additional engineering if the board wanted the project to proceed.
Next steps: staff will request renderings and the developer will prepare preliminary engineering and a traffic study for future review; the Committee did not take a formal vote and offered conceptual feedback.
