A $57 million redevelopment project in downtown Peoria is canceled, according to city staff.
The agreement with Keith Weinstein’s Greystone Realty Group was terminated after the developer missed multiple deadlines, City Manager Patrick Urich confirmed to WCBU on Tuesday.
Late last year, Urich told WCBU that developers had six-month extensions available for deadlines to finalize construction plans and start work on the project.
The project would have demolished two buildings in the 100 block of SW Adams Street — the former Sully’s Restaurant and Illinois Central College’s Perley Building — to make way for a 140-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel, 50 residential apartments, a restaurant and a bar.
The future of the project was first called into question when Illinois Central College re-listed the Perley Building on the market in December 2023.
At the time, Thomas Leiter, an attorney representing Weinstein, told WCBU that high interest rates and increasing construction costs had slowed development across the country, but his client still intended to complete the project.
City officials were optimistic about the development when it was originally proposed in January 2023.
Council member Chuck Grayeb, whose district includes downtown, said he was excited to bring the plan before the city council. Mayor Rita Ali also praised the mixed-use nature of the plan, citing a need for new residential options downtown.
As part of the agreement, the city would have reimbursed Greystone Realty Group 100% of the redevelopment costs, but only through Tax Increment Financing (TIF) money generated by the site over the lifespan of the current TIF district.
