Aurora City Officials Optimistic Residents Can Soon Return After Exterior Collapse on E. Galena Blvd.

AURORA, Ill. (WLS) — Some Aurora residents are still displaced, after bricks fell off their apartment building this weekend.

In Aurora, the westbound traffic lanes on Galena Boulevard between Broadway and La Salle Street continue to be closed, although city authorities describe this as merely a precaution.

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The facade of the building requires repairs, but the overall structure is stable. Consequently, displaced residents and businesses from Saturday night are likely to return within the next couple of days.

It’s been two days since the facade of 100 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora began to crumble, leading to a hasty evacuation.

“I notified the landlord, prompting him to inform everyone in the building. He reached out to the tenants, saying that if they were indoors, we need to evacuate them,” witness Lorenzo Johnson said.

Since then, city officials have been hard at work, determining the structural integrity of the building.

The property owner has been ensuring the 15 residents have accommodations while arranging a rear entrance for their return. Meanwhile, two businesses, a barbershop and a record store, are still closed.

“Residents were promptly and voluntarily relocated to hotels due to inconvenience and displacement. This procedure aligns with our ordinance requirements, mandating relocations when a building becomes unsafe for occupancy,” stated Aurora Director of Development Services, Josh Ream.

Ream mentioned that similar issues, though to a lesser degree, are affecting other downtown buildings, citing age and outdated construction codes as contributing factors. He thankfully noted that no injuries occurred on Saturday, with facade repairs being the only necessary fix.

“As soon as the scaffolding is back up, they should be able to reopen. So, I’m hoping within 48 hours, shouldn’t be later than end of the week,” Ream said.

Officials said the building had a similar issue on its western facade when it was under different ownership.

But, they said that it was repaired, and the current owner, who is out of town, has been quick to fix any issues that have come up during their annual inspections.