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.
“We are very excited to announce the completion of Fox Valley Apartments. Transforming two historical school buildings into apartments has been a fascinating process,” shared David Rintz, Regional Vice President – Multi-Family at McShane. “We’re proud to be able to preserve the rich history of these schools while giving them a new purpose that will better suit this community.”
Located at 641 S. Lake Street, 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, McShane constructed a new two-story, 28,000-square-foot building 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 health care 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.
“We are excited at the opportunity to work with McShane to bring affordable housing to Aurora and be able to transform historical properties that may have otherwise sat vacant for years to come,” said Shelly Tucciarelli, Managing Partner, Housing For All, LLC.
During the remodeling process, McShane prioritized keeping historical features of the schools, including trim, flooring, chalkboards, lockers, windows, and doors. Designed by Cordogan Clark & Associates, 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 percent of area median income. This project was designed to achieve NGBS Silver Certification.