Chicago-based Aetna Development Corp., which is proposing a commercial development on 14 acres abutting the Braeburn Marsh and Bird Sanctuary in Batavia, has hired a public relations consultant.
“I’ve been brought in to tell their story,” said Gary Mack of Mack Communications, a Woodridge-based firm.
Mack acknowledges the development company may have been poor in relaying information to the public.
“Misunderstandings and misinformation about the marsh have created an unnecessary concern over the ecological future of the man-made marsh, ” according to statements released Thursday by the company.
The firm is proposing a business center on L-shaped property at the southeast corner of Randall Road and Fabyan Parkway. The center is to include Best Buy, Walgreens, a restaurant and several retail areas.
In a news release about the development, Aetna President George Hanus said the company’s plans “represents a magnificent model of integration of residential and commercial property buffered by a large open space … We offer a win-win solution for the marsh, area residents and local units of government.”
Mack said Hanus also is trying to get together and talk with the Braeburn Defenders, an ad hoc group formed last fall to fight the developer’s plans for the 120,000-square-foot commercial center.
“He called me on Monday and we agreed to talk again and try to set up a meeting date in the next few weeks,” said Bill Hamilton, one of the lead organizers of the Braeburn Defenders.
As for the news release, Hamilton said, “It doesn’t sound like anything new to me. … He’s made this statement to the press which is fine. It gives us something to sink our teeth into.”
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