AURORA, IL - On Tuesday, Jan. 31, Evergreen Real Estate Group, together with officials from the city of Aurora, will celebrate the grand opening of Aurora St. Charles Senior Living, a 60-unit independent living facility just east of downtown Aurora that will provide affordable housing for low-income seniors. Formerly St. Charles Hospital, the historic Art Deco building at 400 E. New York St. was transformed into modern senior housing as part of a $24 million redevelopment that began in December 2015. The community welcomed its first residents last month.
A public ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the newly renovated community room, located in the former hospital chapel. The event will include a dedication ceremony honoring former Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner. Evergreen and city officials decided to name the Aurora St. Charles Senior Living community room after Mayor Weisner for his role in bringing the project to fruition, part of a broader commitment to ensure all Aurora seniors have access to high-quality, affordable housing.
“The reuse and revitalization of the historic St. Charles Hospital has been embraced by the community, thanks in no small part to Mayor Weisner’s public support of the project and to the ongoing support of the current city administration,” said David Block, director of development for Evergreen Real Estate Group, which will also manage the community. “By restoring this remarkable building to its original grandeur and creating a vibrant senior living community, we were able to breathe new life into this local and historic treasure.”
Tours of the community will be provided following the ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony. Aurora St. Charles Senior Living offers a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans, all with spacious living/dining areas and open kitchens. The community’s modern interiors showcase a number of original design features, including 9-foot ceilings throughout, oversized windows in each residence, and terrazzo and stone floors in common areas. The property also features several shared amenity spaces, including the large community room in the hospital’s former chapel that houses a library/reading room and a separate fitness room. Outside, walking paths and community gardens provide additional opportunities for exercise and socialization.
Residents can also frequent popular shopping, dining and entertainment destinations in downtown Aurora. In addition to offering convenient access to McCarty Park, located across the street from the community, Aurora St. Charles Senior Living is just a half-mile from the Paramount Theatre and Fox River Trail.
“Affordable housing developments like St. Charles Senior Living help strengthen communities like Aurora by allowing seniors across all income levels to lead active, engaged lives while remaining close to family and friends,” said Block.
Designed by Wybe J. Van der Meer, the former hospital was completed in 1932, with additional renovations made to the interior of the structure in the decades that followed. Until the redevelopment, the building had been vacant since 2010, the year it was named to the National Register of Historic Places.
Evergreen Real Estate Group collaborated with Invest Aurora, Northern Lights Development Corporation, the City of Aurora, Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, along with several private lenders and investors, to secure the complicated layers of financing and tax credits needed to fund the $24 million rehabilitation.
Approximately $3 million was obtained through the River Edge Redevelopment Zone program, created in 2006 to incentivize riverfront development in Aurora and other Illinois cities. The balance of the project’s development cost was covered by a combination of federal historic tax credits, low-income housing tax credits allocated by IHDA and private financing.
About Evergreen Real Estate Group: Founded in 1999, Chicago-based Evergreen Real Estate Group is a fully integrated multifamily company that develops, acquires and manages affordable and market-rate multifamily apartments for both seniors and families across eight states. Evergreen specializes in thoughtful, creative residential development solutions in communities around the Midwest. From adaptive reuse of historic buildings to new development in cities and towns facing a shortage of affordable housing, Evergreen offers an experienced team of attorneys, architects, and developers to municipalities seeking to create high-quality apartment communities. Evergreen currently owns and manages 6,500 units of multifamily housing. For more information on the company, visit www.evergreenreg.com