The East Bank Shopping Center, located at the intersection of South Parker Road and East Quincy Avenue in Aurora, is expected to receive a much-needed facelift in the near future, but the exact nature of that facelift will depend on who you ask.
Neighbor Bill VanSickle believes that the area needs to be redeveloped and that it should be. Basically, we don’t agree with what they’re proposing in terms of urban redevelopment.
Kimco Realty, the property’s manager, intends to develop a piece of the undeveloped land into a four-story, 311-unit apartment building with underground parking. It would entail turning some of the retail center’s parking lots into residential parking lots, as well as the construction of a parking garage, as well as the relocation of some of the businesses that are closest to the site.
In addition, VanSickle stated that he would want to see the density reduced as well as an easement that goes through this area and follows Parker Road.
The conversion of a piece of the commercial mall into houses in an area where housing is in limited supply, VanSickle maintains, is not what he has a problem with. He is concerned about the increase in traffic that could arise from the construction of 311 new homes in the area.
His explanation: “We use this facility to get to the Quincy light and Parker Road.” “This will result in a major bottleneck during rush hour and other high-traffic times.”
In order to prevent the developer from extending the building’s length from 200 feet to 610 feet, he and others have petitioned the Aurora City Council to refuse the developer’s plan to limit the number of units. A unanimous decision was reached by the city’s planning commission on January 12 to approve the proposal.
In VanSickle’s opinion, “if we got to 200 [feet], we’d definitely need two buildings,” and “we could run the easement right down here with two buildings on either side,” he continued.
The plan has received backing from local businesses such as McDonald’s and Circle K, which have voiced their belief that it will assist in reviving the commercial hub.
A final vote on the project’s site plan and building length change was slated for the Aurora City Council meeting on Monday at 6:30 p.m. The vote was to take place at the council meeting on Monday at 6:30 p.m. The council, on the other hand, unanimously agreed to postpone the decision until March 28 in order to allow developers more time to work out the logistics of relocating some of the development’s smaller businesses, such as Pet Palace.
VanSickle and others are hopeful that members of the council would vote against the amendment to the charter.
On Monday, requests for comment were not returned by either the city of Aurora’s planning commission or the developer of the building in question.