Aurora Looks To Revamp RiverEdge Park, Millennium Plaza

AURORA, IL — Two popular downtown Aurora spots, RiverEdge Park and Millenium Plaza, might soon look different as the city plans to upgrade both.

City Council will vote on two resolutions to hire two architectural firms to work on the projects. For $70,000, Hitchcock Design Group will work on the preliminary design services for Millenium Plaza, while Chicago-based Ratio Design will be authorized to work on the expansion of RiverEdge Park for $946,850.

The city decided to expand RiverEdge Park due to five years of continuously growing events and crowds, according to documents. The expansion plan calls for a will call booth and south entry gate to be built near the southwest pedestrian bridge entry to the park, cold storage, permanent public bathrooms, storage facilities and a centrally located beverage pavilion, documents show.

The city is also looking to expand the CSO building to include dressing rooms, showers in bathrooms, and offices and storage with the potential for an outdoor deck and roof structure for visiting artists.

"Completing the improvements will allow for attraction of more performers while also increasing the number of patrons that the park can accommodate without compromising the services they are provided," Public Works Assistant Director Jason Bauer told Mayor Richard Irvin in a memo, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Ratio Design has estimated a construction budget of more than $9.3 million based on the scope. The funds City Council will vote on Tuesday cover the basic design services and $50,000 in reimbursable expenses, according to documents.

A few blocks south, Millenium Plaza would be re-envisioned by Hitchcock Design Group, which has an office in Naperville. The redesign would update the plaza on Stolp Avenue along the Fox River and "activate the space and encourage usage of this currently underutilized area," Bauer said, the Tribune reported.

The $70,000 for the Hitchcock group includes $18,000 for the pre-design and $37,000 for the schematic design, according to city documents.