The City of Peoria has reached a settlement with the owners of the Riverview Plaza in downtown Peoria to remedy the building's code violations.
The building was closed in February by the city after a water leak damaged the fire suppression system. The city and MJ Illinois, LLC, which owns the building, were scheduled to appear in court today.
Under the settlement, payments of fines and fees will be delayed by six months.
“That'll put the ownership of this property on a path towards either completing a number of capital projects to improve the building and restore it to use, or the city will be forced to proceed with the penalty issues and the remaining ordinance violations at that time,” said city attorney Patrick Hayes.
Hayes said the city will monitor the progress of construction to ensure the agreement is being followed. He said they don’t expect all violations to be remedied in the six months.
Hayes said the building will remain closed until the violations are addressed.
“Many office structures throughout the nation are under tremendous economic pressure,” Hayes said. “We see that even in our own community, with other buildings, and so while we are not going to stand by and allow the public to be exposed to danger, we've taken steps to address that.”
MJ Illinois is also required to pay the city $10,151.25 before Oct. 1 for an inspection the city had done after the building was originally closed.
Hayes said city staff predict some of the remedies will take a considerable amount of time. The city does not know when the building may be able to re-open.
Chase Bank continues to operate out of the building, but other building occupants will not be permitted to return yet due to safety concerns.
