McShane Completes Adaptive Reuse Construction of Affordable Apartments in Aurora, Illinois

McShane Construction Company completed the construction of Fox Valley Apartments in Aurora, Illinois, on behalf of Housing For All, LLC. in collaboration with Visionary Ventures, Cordogan Clark & Associates, and JTE Real Estate Services. Fox Valley Apartments integrates one new building and two renovated historical school buildings to offer a total of 47 affordable workforce housing units.

Located at 641 S. Lake St., McShane remodeled Lincoln Elementary School, a 39,000-square-foot building originally constructed in 1893, to accommodate 14 apartment units. The school was closed in 2007 due to low enrollment and remained vacant until construction of the apartments began. Also on that site, a new two-story, 28,000-square-foot building was constructed to offer 22 additional affordable workforce units.

Originally an elementary school, Mary A. Todd School at 100 Oak Avenue was transformed to 11 apartment units and a healthcare clinic for uninsured or underinsured families. The building was originally constructed in the early 1900s and was most recently used for West Aurora School District’s early childhood programs until the programs were moved to a new facility in 2019.

During the remodeling process, keeping historical features of the schools was prioritized, including trim, flooring, chalkboards, lockers, windows and doors. The units are offered in one- to three-bedroom floorplans. Shared amenities include a laundry room, a community room, a computer lab, and tenant storage.

Thirty percent of units are reserved for tenants at 30% of area median income. This project was designed to achieve NGBS Silver Certification.