An Aurora City Council committee has recommended helping a basketball training center build a new facility near Church Road and Corporate Boulevard.
M14 Hoops wants to relocate from a place it’s currently renting in Naperville and build its own, 32,900-square-foot facility in Aurora. The new facility would be for training and skill development in basketball for boys and girls in third through 12th grades. While the new place would be only slightly bigger than the place M14 Hoops currently rents on North Washington Street in Naperville, it would give the center room for further expansion.
“We’re mainly a training facility,” said Matt Miller, the business’ owner. “We have no teams we sponsor, but we could expand into that.”
Miller is an Aurora native and former semi-professional player. He founded his business seven years ago, he told members of the Finance Committee.
“I’m excited to bring the facility back home,” he said.
The Finance Committee unanimously voted to recommend helping the facility plug a funding gap of $310,000 in the overall $5.2 million project with a combination of tax increment financing district funds, and a five-year property tax rebate.
The committee was acting on a recommendation from Invest Aurora, the city’s non-profit redevelopment organization, which put together the agreement.
Officials said that since M14 selected the site, its project cost went up from $4.9 million to $5.2 million. The $310,000 gap was created by unforeseen infrastructure costs that include relocating a water main and getting two easements from Nicor. M14 secured a $310,000 loan from the Aurora Township Development Assistance Program, which is given to companies locating or expanding in Aurora Township that are benefiting at least 51 percent low to moderate income people.
The company also is required to create at least one job for every $15,000 loaned. M14 is expected to bring in 16 full-time and 16 part-time jobs in the first year, Invest Aurora officials said. They added that the 16 full-time jobs carry a salary of at least $40,000 a year, with the business having a total yearly payroll of about $1.12 million.
The city’s agreement would in effect help M14 pay back the Aurora Township program loan, with the TIF district kicking in $181,600 for the water main relocation, and the city rebating a total of $128,400 in property taxes during a five-year period.
The Finance Committee recommendation goes to the full council Committee of the Whole next week, and likely to the full City Council for a vote May 9.
