David Hulseberg, president/CEO of Invest Aurora, at the February 20th Aurora Committee of the Whole meeting, explains the interests of the Windfall Group which has an option to acquire the Yorkshire Plaza property on the far East Side of Aurora. Yorkshire Plaza is on 34.73 acres at the northwest corner of East New York Street and Route 59 and consists of approximately 365,000 square feet of commercial shopping space. Yorkshire Plaza is more than 40% vacant and extensive deferred maintenance is required. Windfall Group has redeveloped properties in Carol Stream, Plainfield, and New Lenox. Recently, Eddie Ni, chairman of the Windfall Group, was part of the redevelopment of The Peachtree Pavilion Shopping Plaza in Doraville, Ga. which was 50% vacant. This center was rebranded into an Asian themed center and is more than 90% leased. Windfall Group is considering building an Asian market place with plans to create a cultural niche including unique housing and professional offices (see rendering below). Plans include creating the Pacific Square Asian Shopping Center, the largest Asian-oriented shopping center in the United States. The developer is requesting the Aurora government provide $7.3 Million ($5.5 Million @ 6% for 10 years) in financial assistance to facilitate the first phase of the project. In phase one, the city would provide up to $4 Million in sales tax sharing above the 2017 base sales tax amount. This incentive would expire upon reaching $4 Million, or 10 years, whichever occurs first. The city would provide up to $3.3 Million of business improvement district taxes (BID) for 10 years. If phase one is successful, phase two and phase three are possible. The Aurora government has previously attempted to assist in stabilizing the plaza with a sales tax sharing agreement with Best Buy. That agreement will expire January 31, 2021. • The Flooring Guys of Illinois, a business in Montgomery, is requesting to rezone the property at 907 South River Street (Leonardi Appliance’s previous location) from R-3, One Family Dwelling District to NC, Neighborhood Commercial for a retail sales or service (2100) use, which includes purchasing the property for a retail flooring store. The final votes could be taken as soon as the Aurora City Council meeting Tuesday. Jason Crane/The Voice