Properties along West New York Street in downtown Aurora could
become part of a development which includes Billy Goat Tavern
The same developer pursuing the Elks Club condo development project in downtown Aurora has been acquiring various properties along West New York Street, west of Hollywood Casino, in the hope of creating a "restaurant row."
After the City of Aurora gave Downers Grove-based Irish bar Ballydoyle a couple million in incentives to come to downtown Aurora, the developer is hoping to get the City of Aurora to bet another $1.25 million on his efforts to bring Billy Goat Tavern to downtown Aurora as one of the three restaurants and a few upper-level residential units.
The funds, which would come from a TIF (Tax-Increment Financing), would be given over three years, with the majority of $700,000 front-ended in Year 1, $400,000 in Year 2 and $150,000 in Year 3, paid in full provided the restaurants stayed in business. Overall construction and renovation would cost another million, on top of land acquisition for a total project cost of $3.9 million, according to the developer.
Several variations of restaurants and bars have been made at the site, but developer is counting on a "synergy" effect with Ballydoyle across the street and hopes the combined efforts will make it a "destination."
Those previous attempts received thousands in TIF funds with varying results.
Can Chicago-based Billy Goat Tavern help West New York Street? The establishment has been well-known in the Chicago area for decades, but sources say will be leaving a couple existing locations, including Navy Pier.
From the success of River Street Plaza along with Waubonsee College's campus under construction to various mixed-use retail, restaurant, office and residential, a future state-of-the-art library combined with demolition of old structures such as the Beacon-News building and current police station, there is an emerging center of synergy along River Street.
Can West New York Street also succeed and help extend the synergy?
34 comments:
Ideas like this one are why the City is 4 million dollars in the hole. Every establishment on West New York has failed. Why keep repeating the same pipe dream ?
This is nuts! No one has any idea exactly how much money has been flushed down the toilet over the decades trying to revitalize a downtown that simply has logistical problems as well as environmental problems that prevent it from being a destination.
The city should simply take its asinine waste of a long term development plan and scrap it.
Here is the challenge, let's see how much money has been wasted over the years in downtown Aurora and how much has been skimmed from the rest of the city into TIF projects that would really never pass TIF criteria!
The only way you can improve downtown Aurora is if totally alter the traffic flow of the city to allow outsiders in, and keep the very local resident's out. Some city's have pulled this off by walling in the surrounding communities and having a set of limited access auto traffic only roads into the downtown.
Unless you get realistic about the downtown area this will continue to be a cash siphon for city, state, and federal funds.
BTW, the general idea has to be to get outsiders to come to the downtown and spend their money, if you look at the establishments proposed and the demographics. Based on that guess what communities suffer the severest declines in revenue in recessions? Of course communities that count on outside dollars form discretionary spending to keep them going. What a stupid idea this is. the money in Aurora is not located in the downtown.
The far east money area of Aurora is not going to travel west to go to downtown. The only shot you have of making this work is to get the far west side to traffic downtown. That may be possible, but it is iffy and you could simply redevelop around west plaza or orchard and have a much surer thing.
I know someone that was at an art exhibit in Elgin last week, and had dinner at Villa Verone in their downtown. Then they walked over to a wine bar. She wants to know why Aurora, a much larger city, doesn't have anything like this. The Italian place even had waiters singing opera arias. All we have is ghetto nightclub "venues".
No excuses now
If you've been to an Aurora City Council or committee meeting, you know that not many people attend them. Alderman Stephanie Kifowit is betting that people will take the time to find out what's happening, though, if given the chance.
Kifowit has begun posting digital recordings of the City Council and Finance Committee meetings on her blog site, kifowitcorner.blogspot.com. As of this writing, there are seven recordings on her site, dating back to Nov. 10. Each is the full meeting, and they often run several hours. The recordings are mp3's and can be downloaded for free.
Kifowit says these recordings are for people who can't make the meetings, but she also notes that the city doesn't make audio or video recordings of the meetings available to the public. Committee meetings are taped by the city, but full council meetings are not.
Kifowit says these recordings are for people who can't make the meetings, but she also notes that the city doesn't make audio or video recordings of the meetings available to the public. Committee meetings are taped by the city, but full council meetings are not.
Huh. So if city council meetings are not taped how is Kifowit getting the recording? Maybe I am misunderstanding what you stated.
12:04
There are many personal recording devices that are small and relatively cheap. I use one for recording lectures- good quality sound too. (just my guess)
Now everyone can hear what an idiot she is when she speaks.
Rumor has it that Ballydoyle is barley keeping its head above water. As of now, they are not paying any taxes since they got a break..What will happen when they have to start paying taxes?! I hope it lasts, great place to go..
5:11 - great? Really? It is basically the now defunct Office with a higher end atmosphere. Nice, I'll give it, but great?
Giving away 2 million dollars of taxpayer money for a bar that is doomed to fail like any other downtown business that has failed is simply scandalous. It should be exposed as such by a quality media outlet like the Tribune or Daily Herald.
Wow. Why would anyone want to live in/work in/improve Aurora with all of this negativity? Get off your butts and away from the computer and work with others to make this a better community.... or shut up.
Another realestate scam by the Aurora city council. Remember the dime store on broadway...now an empty lot. Remember the Elks club given to a local ne-er do well failed and cost a bundle. Or how about that property on Eola Rd given at less than appraised value to a Special sports guy for his vending shop. Or how about the special consessions given to a certain alderman and his buddies for a ROLL ON THE RIVER. OR how about the mess on Brodaway and North you know that great Must Have development. Or how about that other mess on River that was not completed as planned and now trying to be pawned off on the taxpayer as a Library. Or how about the old Copley Hospital deal? Or how about the old Bounaro's Restaurant followed by another failyer? Or how about taking the property on River off the tax rolls for the convienience of good ol Wau Wau U. Must say I'm a little more than skeptical about this citys ability in the realestate business. Yep we've been nickeled and dimed, stabed by the Elks and Rolled on the River and are now about to get it up the ass by a Greek Goat. Wonderful.
It doesn't matter what you bring in, no one is going downtown Aurora. In other words, no matter how much you polish shit, it still shit.
I'm not totally opposed to SOME incentive, but this is ridiculous.
Give most of us a million or two to open up a bar and I don't think we would have much problem.
The problem with downtown aurora and any upscale offering is the area surrounding downtown is filled with low life black people and Mexicans. Why would middle class blacks or white folks want anything to do with it when the surrounding communities are so clearly superior?
Don't you think a "Billy Goat Tavern" anchoring the northern tip of Aurora's down-town fits? We already have a Hilly-Billy supposedly working on the southern Tip (Sho-Deen)!
It's too bad that Sho-Deen's contract with the city didn't allow him an exit at the end of 2010 (instead of Dec. 31, 2010). One more year added on to the four years he wasted already (putz). Let me see. He'll come back in January 2012 and say it's the economy that made it impossible to do anything but tear down a black building and dig a big hole.
Weisner and O'Connor best not come back and say that the site is too polluted for anything other then a park just to save face. Something like that could have been figured out years ago.
Pollution is overrated.
There are plenty of people that would (and do) go downtown that have some money to spend. Unfortunately, the city seems to only be interested in big "silver bullet" projects, rather than building a downtown with smaller businesses. The kind that could have opened in the buildings that stood where the Waubonsee behemoth now sits.
Well said 8:13.
I believe the reason they do this is because it is easier, though not as productive, to try and attract a "silver bullet".
Hearing how the city has treated small businesses that have opened in the past, I doubt if Aurora even understand the value of small businesses.
What is the City of Aurora preoccupation with spending millions on establishments that serve alcohol? Is alcohol some sort of magical potion that turns desolation into prosperity? Do the people who run Aurora have a problem with alcohol? It makes me wonder.
The answer is the city has demonstrated with their moratoriums that they want the tax money that comes from restaurants not service based small businesses.
I'm so glad that this discussion is taking place here, because now the problem really has a chance of being solved. All the great ideas that come out of this blog will make Aurora #1 in no time.
I wonder what incentive the new taco joint at Lake and Galena got? We sure do need a new Mexican Resturant in downtown.
I wonder what incentive the new taco joint at Lake and Galena got?
It basically replaces the one that use to be located across from the Aurora Hotel.
It is sad that a Subway could not hack it downtown given the College traffic. And they wonder why PotBelly's pulled out - LOL!!!
Keep putting up businesses will produce gang shootings in downtown
I would like to see the City spend another couple of million of taxpayer money on bringing back Dut's Dugout and/or the Lamplighter.
Maybe the city will give Linda and Vern Chapia-Lavia some money to open up another bar with zero security so another chump will get his brains smashed out!
OR!! Maybe they fall back into giving money to Scott Ascher and his crooked business to fund his mansion. Hey, its not like the city learns from it's mistakes! LET INSANITY RULE!!!!
ps-
Interesting that openline did not cover anything about the Payton family pulling their name off the roundhouse....
12:16 - it's because the city decided over a decade ago that the goal was to make the downtown an "entertainment center".
Right.
Bring back Ritters club they had great entetainment as I recall.
12:16 - it's because the city decided over a decade ago that the goal was to make the downtown an "entertainment center".
I could see that. You know how they have those Renaissance places, you know where the Knights joust or the Gladiators of Rome? Well in Aurora we could match the Insane Deuces vs the Vice Lords or the Latin Kings and charge admission.
9:16
I like your thinking!!!
Lawrence really came alive with useful information at the Committee of the Whole meeting regarding this pork-ject.
Kudos to Rick.
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