Batavia City Council approves new mural series at Aug. 19 meeting

Batavia residents soon will be able to enjoy a new public art installation while strolling the riverwalk.

Batavia City Council members at their Aug. 19 meeting approved plans for a new mural project by local artists on the back side of City Hall, a new massage therapy establishment and the purchase of a parcel of public property.

The Batavia Mural Series is a public art installation that will turn the boarded windows on the east side of the Jeffrey D. Schielke Government Center into a mural series by local artists overlooking the Fox River and Batavia Riverwalk.

The project is an initiative by the Batavia Public Art Initiative, The Conservation Foundation and the city of Batavia. Local artists submitted design proposals for each of the windows that were reviewed by project leaders.

The work is expected to be completed in September and the exhibit unveiled in October.

Council members also approved the purchase of a property at 330-338 Webster St. The site includes a 14,000-square-foot building on the property that is in poor condition and likely will require demolition.

Because of environmental issues on the site that likely will require remediation, including a potential underground storage tank, the seller has agreed to place $200,000 in escrow for two years to cover the remediation costs.

As approved, the city will pay Aiken Properties, LLC $550,000 for the property. The cost is not in the city’s budget, but the city has the option to use TIF 1 or TIF 3 funds for the purchase.

According to a memo from City Administrator Laura Newman, the city bought the property because it aligns with future downtown development plans and ensures the city will have control over a key property in a critical area. The Downtown Plan envisions the development of a multi-story mixed-use building on the lot that will act as a buffer between the residential uses to the east and the commercial uses to the north.

Council members also approved a conditional use permit for the operation of a massage therapy business out of the second-floor space at 103 E. Wilson St., which houses the recently opened wellness business Zen Loft Collective.

Massage therapist Emily Beaupre currently operates another massage therapy practice, Sunshine Massage & Body Work, out of the Zen Loft Wellness Center in Aurora.

Each of these motions were approved by the council as part of the consent agenda without discussion.