Aurora University is asking the city of Aurora for help in taking out $16 million in tax-free debt to support new construction on campus.
Although the debt is being taken out through the city, Aurora residents will not be paying the bill, according to city Chief Financial Officer Chris Minick. Instead, he said Aurora University will be fully responsible for repaying the bonds, and that the debt will not even show up on the city’s financial statements.
The proposed $16 million bond issue, which is set to go before the Aurora City Council on Tuesday, will help finance the construction of a new three-story building that is set to replace the university’s aging Charles B. Phillips Library.
However, the campus’s new “Learning Commons” will be more than just a place to check out books. It will also feature significant room for student collaboration, technological resources and an inclusive design, among other things, university officials previously told The Beacon-News.
The building’s first floor is expected to house books like a traditional library, but also have study rooms, a cafe and the university’s career services, according to past reporting.
Alongside the career services office on the first floor will be an “industry lounge,” where students will be able to meet employers in a casual setting.
On the second floor will be a tech hub, maker space, content creation space, an academic support center and innovation space for both students and faculty along with medium and large spaces for collaboration.
The building’s third floor will hold the university’s archives, which currently are spread around the campus, alongside quiet study areas, a testing center and an outdoor terrace.
The new Learning Commons’ design is intended to promote health and wellness for faculty, staff and students. For example, university officials said that sound was heavily considered in the design, as the building is expected to go from loudest on the bottom floor to quietest on the top floor.
Aurora University President Susana Rivera-Mills told The Beacon-News in May that the building’s architecture shows the university’s commitment to innovation but will also connect to the traditional rest of the campus, as it “incorporates many of the characteristics that make our campus so beautiful.”
At a meeting of the Aurora City Council’s Finance Committee on July 10, where the partnership between the city and university was first discussed, Aurora University Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Sharon Maxwell said the project is meant to be the “jewel in our crown” that completes the 40-acre campus.
The Learning Commons will be student-centered, she said, and in particular it will give students who live off-campus a space to go during the day to engage with their fellow students and faculty.
Aldermen on the Finance Committee unanimously voted to recommend the financial partnership for approval. Then, on Tuesday, the Committee of the Whole placed the item on the upcoming City Council meeting’s consent agenda, which is typically used for routine or non-controversial items that are all approved with one vote and without discussion.
During the Committee of the Whole meeting, Maxwell said that while Aurora University has other ways to take out this debt, the university likes going through the city because it furthers their partnership. Plus, Minick said the city has traditionally embraced that partnership in many different ways.
Nancy Burke of Chapman and Cutler, the city’s bond council, assured aldermen at the Tuesday meeting that the city, although it is acting as a “conduit” for the debt, is not responsible for it in any way. Plus, if the university defaults on the loan, it is not on the city, she said.
More Top Picks Best Cordless Circular Saws For Making
Although City Council has yet to approve the bond issue, which would partially pay for the construction of the Learning Commons, ground has already been broken on the project. According to the university’s website, construction officially started on May 27 after a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony earlier that month.
University officials previously said construction would likely take around 18 months.