Nevermind that a mound of dirt had to be hauled in and laid on top of concrete so official groundbreaking ceremonies could proceed for Aurora`s new riverboat gambling complex. All that really mattered to the 150 people who gathered Thursday morning was that the shovels were out of storage.
The often-sidetracked gaming facility, nearly two years in the making, is under way in what Aurora officials hope will serve as the cornerstone for a revamped and revitalized downtown.
City leaders, led by Mayor David Pierce and officials from Pratt Hotel Corp., the developers of the riverboat gambling operation, joined in the hourlong ceremony launching the $48 million facility. It is expected to be in operation next June.
Once completed, the four-story 65,000-square-foot docking complex will include facilities for docking two 600-passenger riverboats, plus three upscale restaurants and office facilities.
”A project of this size, the impact is so dynamic that it forces the issue of revitalization,” said Susan Horwitz, president of the Aurora Downtown Redevelopment Commission.
City officials, of course, hope restaurants, retailers and other businesses will flock back downtown to join in the economic windfall the riverboats are expected to trigger.
The plan seemed doomed less than two months ago when financial backing fell apart. But a $90 million bond issue completed on behalf of Pratt earlier this month rescued the deal. The Dallas-based company`s chairman, Jack Pratt, said much of his family`s fortune is riding on the riverboats` success.
”We`ve never had a project fail in 38 years of business,” Pratt told those gathered along the banks of the Fox River. ”We were not going to let this project fail.”
”This couldn`t have come at a worse time to approach financial markets,” said Pratt Hotel Corp. President William Weidner. ”But it was a powerful project. We did what we had to do in order to attract the
investment.”
Pierce prodded Aurora residents to look beyond the ceremony.
”Many wish to bask in the glory, but too often when it comes down to doing the work, there are only a few,” Pierce said. ”We need to invest the work and the money in our own downtown.”
The facility is expected to generate 1,500 jobs during construction and 800 permanent positions. Its backers hope it will bring 1 million tourists-and their dollars-annually into the community.
”We will, in a year, see riverboats on the Fox River, and we`ll see people coming to those riverboats,” Pierce said. ”The difficult thing is that we must commit, that this community is important to us. Sometimes we have been our own worst enemies. That must end.”
