Apartment complex opens in Fox Valley Mall in Aurora

AURORA, Ill. - With giant retail malls struggling across the Chicago area, there may be a sign of the future in Aurora.

That is where developers have taken a big chunk of the Fox Valley Mall and turned it into a massive new residential complex. 

It quite literally gives people the opportunity to live at the mall.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Wednesday for the new complex.

Where once stood the mall’s massive Sears store, now stands a new 304 unit apartment complex, named the Lumen of Fox Valley.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin took part in the ribbon cutting ceremony. 

"This does great things for Aurora," Irvin said. "As you know there are malls dying across our country. And we’ve got developers here who saw a vision. Instead of just letting it fail, to reinvent and reuse the mall properties."

The first phase of the development features three buildings on the east side of the mall. 

The apartment units range in size from studio apartments to three bedrooms.

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Last week, the Aurora City Council approved Phase 2 of the project, which will add 500 more residential units on the north side of the mall complex, including a five-story senior living complex.

"It’s part of the transition, a transformation of malls that we’re seeing across the country," Said Ben Curran, one of the developers of the Lumen project.

Curran said it’s not their goal to put malls out of business, but rather to put people close to malls to help them evolve and survive. 

"I think there’s nothing better than taking empty parking that exists in malls today and to use it to bring people who will be their customers," said Curran.

Similar residential developments are already underway at Yorktown Center in Lombard and the Hawthorne Mall in Vernon Hills. 

It’s a trend that will likely continue as people do more of their shopping online.