A tax increment financing [TIF] agreement between the City of Pekin and the Center for Prevention of Abuse has been reinstated.
The Pekin City Council on Monday approved the reinstatement of the agreement, which calls for the domestic violence emergency shelter, known as the Carol House of Hope, to receive a $10,000 forgivable loan toward the construction of a new facility at 121 S. Second St. in Pekin.
The current Pekin facility, in a donated former medical office, lacks the space needed for services. The center purchased the South Second Street site from the city for $1.8 million in 2024.
Carol Merna, the center's chief executive officer, and Kevin Nowlan, the chief operating officer, were at the council meeting to express their thanks for the TIF agreement reinstatement and show off an architect's rendering of the new facility.
"Nice!" was Mayor Mary Burress' reaction to seeing the rendering for the first time.
Merna said the center has been working hard on the project for a few years and is grateful for the city's partnership. Burress said the feeling is mutual for the city.
"This is a wonderful project of real value from a human respective, and a lovely addition to Second Street," Merna said.
"The new facility will be a safe, warm, comforting and welcoming place that provides top-notch services. We're calling the project 'No Place Like Hope.' It's a legacy project. We're a not-for-profit organization, but our profit is the people we serve."
There will be 28 beds in the new facility, a dozen more than what's in the current one.
Josh Wray, Pekin's economic development director, said the center missed development deadlines for the new facility, some caused by "past city issues," that cancelled the previous TIF agreement and loan.
The new development schedule — with the same TIF terms — has the same deadline for project completion: Dec. 31, 2026. Here are the new deadlines:
- Jan. 15: Submission and approval of a site plan.
- Feb. 10: Apply for and obtain zoning variances and special use permits.
- July 1: Begin construction (with the foundation for the building in place).
"A site plan has been submitted and the center is proceeding with engineering work so bids can be sought," Wray said. "I assume bidding will take place during the winter or spring."
The city council passed the TIF agreement reinstatement 6-1, with Rick Hilst voting "no," as he does with all TIF agreements.
A TIF is a common economic development tool government bodies use in which new tax revenue generated by an increase in property values goes back into redevelopment of the area.
Carol House of Hope is named for Carol Wright, who died in a diving accident in 1982. Her parents, Dr. Nelson and Barbara Wright, donated the medical office that's currently being used by the center.
The center also has a Peoria location.
