Look! It's a bird...it's a plane...it's a 14 story hotel and 100,000 square foot convention center!
Developer Joseph Vantreese made public major plans for the site that includes the current offices of the local fishwrap. With his Vanstrand group, they already have the River Street Plaza project of condos well underway.
The $100 million project may be part of even further investment that could reach a $1 billion total, according to Mr. Vantreese.
Like the River Street Plaza project, this is something Vantreese has pursued and City of Aurora officials are trying to catch up.
Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and so-called Corporation Counsel Alayne Weingartz could help the potential of this project best by figuring out how to get out of the way and not be an obstacle as they have done before.
Construction could begin as early as February 2007 and be completed in 2008.
See inside for more...
Developer Joseph Vantreese made public major plans for the site that includes the current offices of the local fishwrap. With his Vanstrand group, they already have the River Street Plaza project of condos well underway.
The $100 million project may be part of even further investment that could reach a $1 billion total, according to Mr. Vantreese.
Like the River Street Plaza project, this is something Vantreese has pursued and City of Aurora officials are trying to catch up.
Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and so-called Corporation Counsel Alayne Weingartz could help the potential of this project best by figuring out how to get out of the way and not be an obstacle as they have done before.
Construction could begin as early as February 2007 and be completed in 2008.
See inside for more...
23 comments:
AURORA — With his first two buildings already reaching skyward on downtown Aurora's River Street, Joseph Vantreese is preparing for the next step on his mission to remake the area in his own image.
On Wednesday, the developer met with city staff to unveil plans for a 14-story hotel and a 100,000-square-foot convention center alongside his existing riverfront condo project.
A five-story parking garage will extend from the convention center, Vantreese said, and the entire structure will be covered with 150,000 square feet of landscaped grass and trees — one of the largest "green roofs" in the country.
The convention center will be designed to host everything from trade shows to concerts and sporting events.
Most of the hotel building would be devoted to the facility's 300 all-suite rooms and full range of hotel services, Vantreese said, but the first two floors would be occupied by retailers, including a bookstore.
Vantreese said the hotel will be operated under the flag of a major brand, which will be secured before construction begins.
Both the hotel and convention center would be constructed on the two blocks between River and Lake streets south of Benton Street, which includes the present offices of The Beacon News.
Vantreese's development company, the Vanstrand Group, has purchased almost all the property on those two blocks and expects to own it all soon. The newspaper has not yet found a new home.
Construction next year
Although the concept plans Vantreese showed to city officials Wednesday are still preliminary sketches, the developer said he expects to submit complete designs for city approval within 60 days.
If the city approves the plans quickly enough, Vantreese said he intends to begin construction on both the hotel and conference center in February.
The plans are an extension of Vanstrand's River Street Plaza project, a $100 million condo and restaurant complex whose first phase is on schedule for completion in January.
That first phase consists of 96 condos and about a dozen restaurants east of River Street. About a quarter of the residential units have been sold, and Vantreese said he will announce several restaurant tenants as the buildings get closer to completion.
Completed by 2008
On the west side of River Street, the city has already approved a 10-story condo building of roughly 100 units for the property just south of the Beacon.
Vantreese said he intends to construct the 10-story condo building simultaneously with the newly announced hotel and conference center, all three of which should be complete by early 2008.
Vantreese also announced Wednesday he also has purchased the River Street property now occupied by Midwest Siding Supply, which plans to relocate to Montgomery.
Vantreese plans to redevelop that site into another four-story condo and retail building, similar to the ones now under construction just a few hundred feet to the north.
Altogether, the hotel, convention center and fourth condo building announced Wednesday will amount to an additional $100 million investment by the Vanstrand Group, a small development company financed by Vantreese and a group of private investors.
That will put the company's total interest in downtown Aurora eventually at $200 million, but Vantreese said he's just getting warmed up.
"We're going to put a billion dollars into this neighborhood over the next 10 years. This gets us 20 percent of the way," he said.
That is, he said, as long as the city is willing to work with him.
Tense relations between Vantreese and city officials during the developer's early efforts to get River Street Plaza under way nearly demolished the deal on the drawing board, but the relationship has improved dramatically.
The City Council in March approved the initial River Street Plaza plans and granted the project $26 million worth of tax rebates to be paid over more than a decade.
Since then, the city has had a former economic development official working nearly full time to ensure smooth cooperation between the two entities.
That level of attention has allowed River Street Plaza work to proceed even faster than Vantreese's demanding schedule, a situation he said he hopes will continue as work begins on the hotel and convention center.
City staffers who saw those preliminary plans Wednesday said it was too soon to comment on them.
May seek city incentives
Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner could not be reached to comment on the plans, although Vantreese said the mayor had input on their design for some time.
The massive green roof, for example, was one of Weisner's suggestions, Vantreese said, and the notion was incorporated into the plans to make the project more distinctive — and to provide a better view from the windows of his hotel and condos.
Vantreese said he and his consultants have been working on the hotel and convention center plans for more than six months, and that he likely will seek a financial contribution to the project from the city.
Hats off to the Vanstrand group!
I have not been privy to any design plans, however, what I see from this group is a vision. Comprhensive vision that has been lacking in Aurora for a long time. It is refreshing to see ideas other than aluminum sided army barracks, strip mall after strip mall, complete failure in the economic development of prime parcels of land within Aurora. New ideas that will make Aurora unique and distinguished.
I remember back to when Ald. Lawrence wrote a letter in the Beacon regarding the lack of cooperation from the current administration. It is clear that Mr. Vantreese knows what he wants and is going after it. I now wonder what would have happened to all those delapidated buildings and land had this group have not taken charge of the situation. I believe this group will be the catalyst that will poise Aurora for the future.
I question what role the AEDC had in any of this. I will assume None. This is a great example of the mickey mouse ED that has been occurring in this city for years. Something of this scale is just too big or the AEDC to manage.
I do not know the history of the Vanstrand group, but I like the fact that their strings are not being pulled by the typical Aurora players. So way to go! Nice to see some new blood in town.
Oh, by the way...Mr. Vantrese interested in Farnsworth Ave????
This once again proves the best interests of the future of Aurora are not going to come from the old-guard cronies. Thankfully, Weisner wasn't successful in bullying Vantreese before and there can be serious steps forward on this.
Maybe they should outsource ED to Vantreese.
There is alot of work to be done to make this project a reality but I have complete confidence in Joe Vantrees to pull it together. I have said from the beginning about Joe it was not the River Street Plaza project that was the most important although it did set the stage for the future but it was always about the next project.
This annoucement and the ones to follow in the near future will be exciting for Aurora.
Don't let any politian or organizations take any credit for any of this, these projects are completely driven by one individual who has alot of guts and great ideas.
Other Developers, Builders, Lawyers and Architects should take notes He or his company have not donated to any campaign or politian in this city.
It's incredibly refreshing to see someone take great ideas and make things happen without the usual cronyism and "who's who" in this town.
Joe Vantreese and Scott Asher at the Roundhouse have probably never heard the expression "You can't fight City Hall," and we should be glad.
We who are looking for progress here in Aurora value their contributions or shall I say lack of contributions (political).
I know they don't need our support, but I want them to know that there are those of us out here that appreciate them.
Thanks gentlemen.
I second the "Auroran Who Understands" position. But don't forget Rick Lawrence, he hasn't heard the expression either.
I have to say that Joe is a straight forward person who is not afraid to call a "spade" a "spade". I think his project is a great addition to the downtown and I look forward to seeing it completed. I second what Rick said; no one can take credit for this project except Joe. His determination made it happen.
The foundations are in the ground, the buildings are starting to rise and I think this will be a great compliment to downtown.
Also, the Bel Gale project is turning out wonderful. This developer can get the job done. We should all thank Joe Vantreese for his vision and including Aurora in that quest.
I really hope Weisner, Weingartz, the AEDC and the ineffective downtown development people spend some time tossing buckets of water at each other to wake up and realize the only positive things happening are in SPITE of them and not because of them. If I hear Tom Weisner attempt to take one second of credit on this, I'm going to scream my head off in public in front of him. If he reads this, he should say the following:
"Thank you Mr. Vantreese for not being so infuriated with my staff, my policies and me. Good luck on this. I will keep my mouth shut from here and let you do what needs to be done. Now, I must go revise my Wildly Important Goals with a new survey."
This is just too cool. Not only we may get a hotel and convention center, but demolish the fishwrap? That's worth the deal all by itself. If the owners (Sun-Times) of the fishwrap have any sense, they should beg the Openline Blog to takeover the fishwrap when they move.
Can someone ask Vantreese to insist that the deal to buy the fishwrap site will go through only if this blog takes over?
I love progress! I was so thrilled to see this coming--I first heard about his developments on the real estate pages. I couldn't be more pleased with how this will help Aurora.
I hope the mayor and cronies do stay out of the way!
Too much hype! Have you seen the artists conception and compared it to the site? Where is all the frontage at the river that was supposed to be for public use?
This was sold to us as a development that was totally financed by Vantreese. Where do you think the 26 million in tax rebates comes from?
Do we really want to give all our river frontage to condos? The "fast track" building permits need to slow down before we have a city with 50,000 new residents and all on one way streets.
Ever hear of planning?
To annon 7/06 @ 6:01 PM
It appears to me that Mr. Vantresse has done alot of planning & work on this project. I for one appauld him for his effort and will also support him. The convention center is a FANTASTIC IDEA! Look at the potential in this! I now wonder if Mr. Vantresse can help in the Drive-In issue. This would be a plus for what he is doing. Doubt tho that Bigelow would accept any offer he would give as Bigelow only has one objective. Thank God that Mr. Vantresse is someone who is not apart of all the corruption!
Vantreese should go full steam ahead and let Weisner and the cronies cry away.
Planning should not be left to the developers. Don't we have a vision of our own? Planning should be done before developers come. They need to conform to a plan so we don't lose all of our riverfront.
Stop acting like we should feel lucky that they want to come here. Aurora is one of the most desirable places to develop, they want what we have. Stop pandering.
Well ANON 3:23am; yes, we should have a plan and the Sieze the Future plan pretty much gobbles up all our riverfront for condos and buildings. The plan we have is not what the residents want at all! We would like to appreciate our river but it's being exploited. Look at the UGLY casino? You're right, we shouldn't let the developers dictate how they should develop; however, when no one but one person is knocking on your door, it's smart to work with them.
Vantreese's project, from what I've seen, has a very nice river walk along the river. I think he is appreciating the river. We need to focus our plans with resident input, and Sieze the future is not interested in that. They're only interested in keeping the Mayor happy so they can keep their jobs.
ANON 3:23 AM Get some sleep and then start to see things clearly. Developers donate to the Mayor and then the Developers get to do whatever they want as the Mayor turns a blind eye. That Aurora Politics!! No plan will ever change that until we get the corrupt people off the Council (like Buy Crap) and get rid of Weisner.
When will the public get a peek at the designs?
When will the developers get a peek at the publics plan? Isn"t that a better scenario?
Who elected the Seize the Future cronies? I'm tired of seeing gangs run Aurora, whether they are street gangs or in shirts-ties.
Congratulations to Vantreese and thanks to people like Scott Ascher for not letting Aurora screw up their vision.
Anonymous 2/06 "...where do you think the $26 million comes from?"
Well, Vantreese's project is a TIF (Tax Incremental Financing) Program. He continues to pay the taxes that were previously being paid but he is not required to pay the additional real estate taxes over the next 20 years that he has created.
That is why it a "great incentive, created by the federal government and used by the states."
So ""where do we think the taxes... from his project... that he created."
Mr. Vantreese, thank you. Finally someone sees the wonderful potential this city offers. The potential our fore fathers saw when they first designed downtown. You are a wonderful asset to our city and I as so happy when I drive down River Street and see the daily progress, I admit, I was skeptical that people would actually buy here but I am glad you have proved me wrong.
You are a wonderful example to others that are looking for some where to make their mark. For those willing to stand up for their beliefs and not take no for an answer, Aurora awaits you. Come one, come all.
Thank you again!
Well spoken, outspoken. Too bad more people posting on this blog can't employ what you do.
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