The Aurora City Council on Tuesday will vote on a conditional use for a church in a former bank building at West Plaza on the city’s far West Side.
The Maranatha Hispanic Seventh-Day Adventist Church is looking to locate in the former bank building at 555 Redwood Drive.
The church, which has about 100 members right now, would have enough space for about 170 members at the new location, according to city officials.
The former Old Second National Bank building has a drive-thru and 46 striped parking spaces, which is more than the 43 the city’s ordinance would require. The one-story building is about 4,500 square feet.
The plans for the church include remodeling the interior for worship space for 170 people, five classrooms for congregation members and a dedicated pastor’s office.
While church officials said before the Aurora Planning and Zoning Commission they have no plans for the drive-thru area right now, it could eventually be remodeled for member pick-up and drop-off.
The proposal does not include any major exterior changes to the building or the site, such as enclosing the drive-thru for further office space or meeting rooms, according to city officials.
According to a memorandum, city staff said they think the conversion from a bank to a church use “will act as a nice transition from the more intense commercial uses of West Aurora Shopping Center to the south, and the residential neighborhood to the north.”
Aldermen at the Feb. 20 City Council Committee of the Whole meeting placed the conditional use on the consent agenda for Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting, meaning it’s likely to be approved.
Steve Lord , 2024-02-23 14:12:16
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