A developer who wants to build a strip mall on North Aurora’s east side finds himself in a financial Catch-22 that could scuttle the project, officials said Thursday.
Terrence Lavery Builders Inc. of Wheaton had won approval to build the mall at the southwest corner of Illinois Highway 56 and Mitchell/Hart Road, but village ordinances require that the developer pay the costs of renovating the intersection before building construction begins.
The work, which would add a traffic light, would cost as much as $500,000, and until Lavery secures tenants for the mall and starts generating income, he cannot afford the renovations, said Village Administrator Robert L. Nelis Sr.
The prospective tenants have told Lavery they will not sign leases until the intersection is reworked, and banks will not lend him money for construction until he secures tenants, Nelis said.
That predicament has left the Village Board looking for ways to finance matching funds that could spur the state to do the work earlier.
