Aurora is poised to launch a high-tech business and development district, city officials said.
Aurora is looking to join other major cities in the country known as tech hubs – those cities with clusters of data and technology companies that have made infrastructure investments and carved out “innovation districts” in their communities.
The official launch of the 605 Innovation District in Aurora is Thursday at Bureau Gravity at 56 S. LaSalle St. The doors open at 3 p.m. with an official ceremony set for 4 p.m. with opening remarks by Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin; Michael Pegues, chief information officer for the city of Aurora; and Jimi Allen of Bureau Gravity. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is also expected to attend the event.
Those looking to attend should make reservations by Wednesday at http://bit.ly/2FQYoo3
“We are capitalizing on our technology infrastructure, business enterprise system and national partnerships to move the city forward,” said Clayton Muhammad, director of Communications for the city of Aurora, about the district.
Pegues earlier this year unveiled details of a new technology plan that capitalizes on what the city has already done. The 605 Innovation District is an extension of that plan, Muhammad said.
The “605” in the name references the first three digits of zip codes in Aurora, he said.
After the opening remarks, a roundtable meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Guest speakers will include Nelson Santos, president and co-founder of Scientel Solutions, a technology services company; William Sullivan, professor and director of the Rokwire initiative based at the University of Illinois; Bob Bennett, chairman for Cities Today Institute; and Oscar Bode, CEO and founder of Smart City Capital.
Muhammad said the Thursday event should be special.
“We’re calling it a plug-in ceremony as opposed to a ribbon cutting because that’s what we are doing,” he said. “We are plugging into the future. We are plugging into technology, innovation, education and business enterprise.”
He said having the event at Bureau Gravity makes sense, because the marketing, branding and communications firm founded and run by Jimi Allen has been a partner with the city on the project.
“He’s a natural partner to launch the 605 Innovation District,” Muhammad said. “He’s already been doing it in Aurora.”
He said there are reasons why major tech companies have moved into the city.
“They see the potential of Aurora,” Muhammad said.
Bureau Gravity will serve as the 605 Innovation District’s business intelligence and media hub, officials said. The potential is great for technology-based growth in the city, Allen said.
“There are a lot of properties that would be ideal for tech startups in Aurora,” he said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
