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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: John Curley, Chief Development Officer
David Dibo, Executive Director, Mayor's Office of Economic Development
DATE: August 10, 2018
SUBJECT:
To obtain approval of a Redevelopment Agreement to facilitate the environmental cleanup and related remediation of the former Copley Hospital site at 502 S. Lincoln Avenue ("Old Copley") on the near southeast side of Aurora.
PURPOSE:
The approval of this request will facilitate the long sought cleanup of the blighted old Copley campus and pave the way for its adaptive reuse, redevelopment and economic rebirth. This in turn will enhance the quality of life of the residents in the surrounding neighborhood and for all Aurorans who have watched the property deteriorate and become an increasing hazard to our community.
BACKGROUND:
In the 23 years that have passed since Rush-Copley closed its hospital, the facility's successor owners and City officials have struggled to achieve consensus on a plan to redevelop the site. During this time, the shuttered building has become a blight on the neighborhood and a documented environmental hazard.
Following years of litigation in State court, the City served Old Copley's current owners, Raghuveer and Anita Nayak and their associated business entities (the Owners) in the summer of 2017 with notice that it intended to file suit under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to compel them to remediate the asbestos hazard within the buildings - a problem that had worsened during years of neglect and vandalism at the site. Service of the notice led to renewed discussions between the Owners and City officials with both sides open to the potential of finding an amicable resolution to the dispute that would lead to the site's redevelopment.
In the fall of 2017, the City was approached by a local investment group, now organized as Fox Valley Developers LLC, (Developer) who asked whether the City would consider...
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