HEATHER EIDSON / BEACON NEWS
Waubonsee Community College started tearing down buildings Monday
to make way for a new downtown Aurora campus.
BY DAVE PARRO
Almost four years after Waubonsee Community College announced plans for a new campus in downtown Aurora, demolition finally started Monday. It sure took long enough.
While the city agreed to spend $50,000 to salvage some historical items inside the buildings, they thankfully didn't give in to preservationists and spare the structures themselves. Just because something is old doesn't mean it's worth saving. Some of the buildings sat vacant for years or even decades.
And the argument that Waubonsee won't be paying property taxes as an educational institution doesn't fly because the buildings didn't really generate all that much for the city. This doesn't seem like much of a loss at all.
The buildings Waubonsee started tearing down Monday date back to the 19th Century. Their construction dates likely range from 1855 to the 1880s. Here's a look at their histories:
2-4 S. River St.
Early use (1895 city directory): Means & Shields, grocers
Later uses: Chicago Motor Club, Stein's grocery and liquors, Norton & Hines Magnavox
Most recent use: Office/professional, Targeted Marketing
2002 property taxes: $7,843
8 S. River St.
Early use: Johnson & Oleson, saloon
Later uses: Stein's
Most recent use: Office/professional, Judd Lofchie & Associates
2002 property taxes: $1,873
10 S. River St.
Early use: L.W. Crosman, provisions
Later uses: Stein's, Ziegler Music Co.
Most recent use: Office/professional, Judd Lofchie & Associates
2002 property taxes: $1,873
12 S. River St.
Early use: John Smith, saloon
Later uses: Wilson's Bakery, Chin's Hand Laundry
Most recent use: Services, Creative Mortgage
2002 property taxes: $1,735
14 S. River St.
Early use: A. Manning, meat market
Later uses: Groshans Beauty Shop
Most recent use: Vacant
2002 property taxes: $1,843
16 S. River St.
Early use: H.B. Raymond, variety store
Later uses: Palace Fruit Co., Sherman-Williams Co. paints
Most recent use: Services, Sir Speedy Printing
2002 property taxes: $1,807
18 S. River St.
Early use: Andrew Hedin, shoe store
Later uses: Palace Fruit Co.
Most recent use: Retail, John's Smoke Shop
2002 property taxes: $1,807
20 S. River St.
Early use: D.W. Stockwell, general store
Later uses: Dine-A-Mite restaurant, Aurora Pet Shop
Most recent use: Vacant
2002 property taxes: $1,842
22 S. River St.
Early use: M. Brown, grocer
Later uses: Erlenborn's show room
Most recent use: Services, Corporate Services Employment
2002 property taxes: $1,771
30 S. River St.
Early use: Evans, Knapp & Co., shoe store
Later uses: A.J. Erlenborn & Co. feed and seed, office supplies
Most recent use: Retail, Office Supply Outlet
2002 property taxes: $4,772
32-34 S. River St.
Early use: Scott & Pease, dry goods
Later uses: Merchant National Bank, Illinois Bell Telephone Co.
Most recent use: Services, Fox Valley Blueprint
2002 property taxes: $4,712
36 S. River St.
Early use: People's Shoe Store
Later uses: C.J. Boorkman women's clothes, Fox Valley Blueprint
Most recent use: Services, Esprit's Hair Design
2002 property taxes: $2,737
38 S. River St.
Early use: C.W. Marshall & Co., groceries
Later uses: J.D. Rice and Sons paint, Carlon's Paint and Glass
Most recent use: Services, On the Edge Hair Studio
2002 property taxes: $3,137
40 S. River St.
Early use: McMillon & Co., dry goods
Later uses: Hartz-Chawgo Drug Co.
Most recent use: Office/professional, Aguinaga & Serrano Attorneys
2002 property taxes: $3,973
41-43 W. Downer Place
Early use: Charles Woodard, confection stand; Jessie F. Stevens, millinery
Later uses: Smith Shoe Store
Most recent use: Vacant
2002 property taxes: $1,406
There might be a better use for the block than a community college campus, as some have argued, but whatever Waubonsee builds will be better than what was there.
Glad to see something finally happening -- anything is better than an entire block of decaying, vacant buildings.
Still, without having seen any real plans for their new campus, it's premature to be hailing it as a good thing for economic development downtown. WCC's existing campus has produced little or no trickle-down for local merchants, so there's no reason to expect a new campus will be different.
Meanwhile, the project also might threaten one of the few successful commercial spaces downtown: the ABC building, whose parking lot may be jeapordized by the new campus.
Be vigilant, Beacon!