Daily Herald: Long-dormant hospital in Aurora set for cleanup, renovations
A 9-acre former hospital site south of downtown Aurora that has stood dormant for the past 23 years, inviting vandals and trespassers, is set for environmental cleanup to make way for new residential and medical uses.
The city council this week approved an agreement with a group of local investors who plan to start work this fall to remove asbestos, lead paint and other toxins inside the former Copley Hospital at Lincoln and Weston avenues.
The group, called Fox Valley Developers, LLC, includes six members who will front the estimated $12 million to $16 million in cleanup costs before qualifying for a $3 million reimbursement from the city once regulatory agencies deem the site safe. The group hopes to have the cleanup completed by next spring.
Aurora Alderman Bill Donnell, whose ward includes the 340,000-square-foot former hospital campus, said the city council approved the agreement unanimously.
“After decades of decay and delay, we are moving forward with a partner who will immediately improve the campus by removing the environmental hazards and toxic debris so that the property can be completely redeveloped,” Mayor Richard Irvin said in a news release. “This property has been a detriment to the community for far too long.”
Removal of asbestos and other harmful substances in the property’s nine buildings, built between 1888 and the 1970s, is the first project Fox Valley Developers will tackle.