Apartment Choice

A state tax credit that is helping riverside restorations of historic properties in Aurora and Elgin now is set to last through 2021 after Gov. Bruce Rauner approved an extension Friday afternoon . The River Edge Redevelopment Zone Historic Tax Credit program had been set to expire Dec. 31 after lawmakers last year granted it a one- year extension . advertisement But Rauner, while visiting Aurora University on Friday, signed a bill sponsored by several suburban legislators to keep it going another four years. Aurora officials said Mayor Richard Irvin had lobbied for the bill in Springfield and welcomed the signing of it as positive economic news for the city. In the City of Lights, the tax credit has given $3 million toward a $20 million project to revamp the former St. Charles Hospital into senior housing. Officials might also use it to turn the Hotel Arthur and Stanley Furniture buildings into...

What is a planned community? It's a housing development where the homes, roads, stores and other features are carefully designed and orchestrated to make living there as convenient and enjoyable as can be. For instance: Shopping centers may be deliberately situated within walking distance of planned community homes , which are typically attached—condos, townhouses, apartments—to make travel by foot manageable. Trees and flowers are planted alongside most streets, along with hiking/biking trails. High-speed commuter rails whisk workers to nearby urban centers  for their 9-to-5 jobs. There may even be village-wide Wi-Fi, to boot. Contrast this with the ad hoc way communities are usually built: In many cases, a developer just plunks down row housing on a parcel of land nowhere near commercial districts, which means you'll have to always grab your car keys for a carton of milk. Sometimes, luck or some modicum of forethought helps these neighborhoods turn out OK, but planned communi...