Aurora Takes Ownership of Historic Hobbs Building

From the City of Aurora:

AURORA, IL — Due to significant structural deficiencies, multiple unresolved citations and serious public safety concerns, the City of Aurora accepted the donation of the historic Hobbs building, 2 N. River Street, on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 21, and immediately began emergency repairs.

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The City of Aurora began the process by removing the "onion" dome, which had been deemed structurally unsound. It is the City's intention to see that the dome is replaced when the building is redeveloped.

Over the past four years alone, the City has cited the Hobbs building owner 8 times for violations ranging from vacant property registration and zoning violations to more critical internal and external building violations, including an unsecured elevator shaft, frame damage, holes in the roof, broken windows and the unstable and shifting dome. For many of these violations, the City of Aurora stepped in to handle the repair
work for the sake of public safety.

Due to continued concerns, earlier this year, the City of Aurora filed legal action to require additional repairs. The owner recently agreed to donate the historic building to the City rather than assume any additional repair costs.

Prior to accepting the property, the City of Aurora engaged two structural engineering consultants, both of whom concluded that the existing conditions of the building are dangerous to the public and further temporary efforts to salvage the dome are futile.

The City immediately removed the leaning dome and will reframe the roof over the resulting opening and perform additional weatherproofing measures.

Temporary lane closures on Eastbound Galena and Southbound River will be coordinated with progress of the work on the building, which is projected to last as long as 10 days.