Ron Janusz, president, and Melinda Kruder, vice president of Support Companies, LLC, present information at the Rotary Club of Aurora meeting Monday at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora. They shared an update about the former Aurora Public Library building at 1 E. Benton Street in downtown Aurora which is home to Support Companies 24/7 contact center, training and product labs, IT and server operations, and administrative offices. The building was vacant for six months in 2015 with its fate in question, including possible demolition of the 42,000 square-foot Carnegie library.
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929 in several countries.
The 1 E. Benton location was a stop on the recent Illinois Solar Tour after solar photovoltaic panels were recently installed on the rooftop. The terms of the building purchase agreement included a price of $10 with $50,000 per year donations to the Aurora Public Library Foundation for a minimum of five years.
The building was placed on public tax rolls for the first time, to benefit local taxing bodies, including the city of Aurora and East Aurora School District 131.
Jason Crane/The Voice