Proactive Preservation
January 2024

Proactive Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse in Chicagoland

A panic-free approach to pre-planning a building’s possible next life for its highest and best use with owner and community in mind.

Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Naperville Municipal Center, Meeting Rooms A/B, 400 S. Eagle Street, Naperville, IL

Our speaker was John Curley, Chief Development Services Officer, City of Aurora, IL. He spoke about:

• How to identify and preserve historic buildings that make a community unique.

• How historic buildings can be repurposed often at lower cost and less harm to the environment than new construction.

• How genuine communication between various community groups can lead to successful outcomes for all.

He has been instrumental in Aurora’s many preservation successes. His description how Aurora's toolkit is used along with building code to overcome the specific challenges due former construction of long vacant buildings to achieve successful adaptive reuse was very insightful.

About 30 people attended in person and about 20 people participated via zoom. Please enjoy a few photos of the event and a video of the presentation.