The West Aurora School Board has approved an agreement between VNA Health Care and West Aurora School District for a clinic that will operate out of the former Mary A. Todd School building in Aurora.
The move comes at the same time the board has given approval of an agreement between the district and the city of Aurora that will see affordable housing units put in the vacant school building.
Along with the apartments, a portion of the facility at 100 Oak Ave. will be set aside for a health center for the exclusive use of residents of West Aurora School District with school-age children.
The agreement in part specifies that the clinic will provide primary care medical services, mental health services, health screenings and health education promotion, and that both sides agree the VNA may adjust the range and amount of services based upon budgetary considerations.
The agreement also specifies that VNA will hire a qualified physician to serve as a part-time medical director for the clinic and staff the clinic with Illinois licensed, registered or certified health professionals.
The clinic’s staff will not be employees of the district, and the clinic will not be owned or controlled by the district, per the agreement.
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The agreement specifies the district’s responsibilities, which include providing at no charge to the VNA space, utilities and janitorial services at the former Todd School. The district is also to designate $500,000 in federal funds to be received by the district to be reserved for the VNA’s use in an amount up to $250,000 per year during the first two years of the clinic’s operation.
The project that will turn the former school into affordable housing with a West Aurora School District clinic also includes affordable apartments being placed at the former Lincoln Elementary School at 641 S. Lake St. in the district.
The Aurora City Council recently approved contributing $3.5 million in federal funds toward the project to remodel the two former Aurora schools into affordable rental housing.
Aldermen approved a development agreement and also authorized use of federal funds toward the redevelopment of the vacant schools with a total of 47 apartment units, as well as the medical clinic operated by VNA Health.
The developer for the project is Visionary Ventures NFP Corp., of Oak Brook.
The city of Aurora owns both school buildings after West Aurora School District arranged for the city to take them over. Lincoln School was closed as a school in 2009, and Todd School closed as a school a while back, but was used by West Aurora for classroom purposes until 2019.
The work at Lincoln School would include 37 units, both in the old school building and in a new building the developer plans to build next door.
There would be 10 units at Todd School, with the furthest north section of the building including the medical clinic.
That section of the building actually would be conveyed back to West Aurora School District, but the city would convey the rest of Todd School – as well as all of the Lincoln School property – to Visionary Ventures.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.