Waubonsee Community College has sold its former downtown Aurora campus to Seize the Future Development Foundation, where two buildings are planned to become part of the Aurora Arts Center, a school run by the nearby Paramount Theatre.

The sale of the property, located at 5 East Galena Boulevard and 2-20 South Stolp Ave., was completed June 29, 2016.

According to a Waubonsee Community College news release, the sale of the former campus “marks another milestone in Waubonsee’s commitment to the Aurora community and its growth and development.”

WCC maintains a modern downtown campus at 18 S. River St. in the heart of downtown Aurora. The 132,000-square-foot campus allows students to earn a complete associate degree at this one facility, along with accessing a wide array of student services.

Since establishing a permanent presence in Aurora in 1985, the college has invested more than $54 million in its campuses, which is among the largest investment in Aurora by a single entity. That figure includes ongoing renovations to its Aurora Fox Valley Campus, which will re-open as home to WCC’s healthcare programs this fall.

During the redevelopment of the current downtown campus, which opened in 2011, Waubonsee acquired a series of vacant and dilapidated buildings for which numerous redevelopment proposals had failed. Since establishing a permanent presence in downtown Aurora in 1985 – including a second location at the Aurora Fox Valley Campus, next to Rush Copley Hospital — Waubonsee has served 126,482 students from Aurora and its adjacent communities, and currently employs nearly 400 people in Aurora.

SOURCE: Waubonsee Community College news release