Plans to convert a vacant former mental health facility and homeless shelter on the south end of Peoria’s Warehouse District into a 12-bedroom halfway house for parolees are on hold for at least three weeks.
The Peoria City Council on Tuesday voted to defer action on a proposal from GRO Community to renovate the property at 1924 SW Adams Street, seeking clarification on where the facility’s residents would come from and how much of an investment is planned for needed building improvements.
“I think there needs to be a little more assurance from that the organization understands what they’re doing, and just to make the council members like myself who weren’t familiar with [its] outreach in Peoria to get acquainted and sit down and have a cup of coffee, if you will,” said council member Tim Riggenbach in moving for the deferral.
Also during Tuesday’s 90-minute meeting, the council voted in favor of a proposal by Midwest Bioprocessing Center to open research and development lab at 2601 W. Forrest Hill Avenue.
“They have been looking for a graduation space for the last three years,” said Assistant City Manager Kimberly Richardson. “They needed a very particular type of space in order to grow their business and grow their organization with their needs.”
Although both proposals came up for consideration one day after receiving unanimous recommendations from the planning and zoning commission, the halfway house plan received considerable support while also raising concerns.
The facility would provide temporary housing, employment training and mental health therapy for former prisoners making the transition back into society through GRO Community’s Reentry Community Housing Initiative.
“These are going to be individuals that will be going through a workforce development program, dealing with getting their soft skills together, getting prepared to be in the workforce environment so they’re not just going to be eating off the fat of the land,” said Carl Holloway, a GRO Community representative.
“The whole purpose of this halfway house is to help individuals get on their feet so they won’t be public service aid individuals.”
Council member Bernice Gordon-Young, who serves as the lead mental health provider at Peoria County Jail, said programming such as what’s planned for GRO Community’s halfway house is critical to reducing recidivism.
“Individuals who are released from prison are more successful when they have programming to return to, when they have stable housing, when they don’t have to go to someone’s house that doesn’t want them there when they are seeking gainful employment,” she said.
Council member Zach Oyler said he favored the deferral but would not be able to approve the plan without more information, wondering if it might bring individuals originally from beyond the Peoria area into the community.
“I have extreme amount of concern with this going in the area of town that it’s going, because we have an over-saturation already of folks that are on public service dollars and needing extra social service agency assistance,” said Oyler, adding that he supports the halfway house idea on a personal level but that the location “does not work for me.”
Mayor Rita Ali and Riggenbach both said they toured the building earlier this year as a possible site for developing residential space for unhoused individuals, but it would take “millions of dollars” to bring it up to standards.
“They haven’t gone into great detail other than that they’re well informed that there will be a requirement if this is approved, ultimately through a building review inspection to meet all the regulations,” said Assistant Community Development Director Leah Allison.
With the deferral, the proposal will come back to the council at its next regular meeting on Dec. 9.
Requests for rezoning and special use approval for the biotech lab were submitted by the Talisman Development Group on behalf of Sterling Assets, LLC. Midwest Bioprocessing is described as a startup company that uses molecular biology and other technology to develop rare sugars and oils.
Approximately 10-12 employees will work at the site, and all operations will be conducted entirely inside the lab space, with no external storage.
“This is very exciting to see that they are able to stay within Peoria as they continue to grow as a company and provide some additional services that we may not see directly, but for the industry for which they serve,” said Richardson.
Typographical errors on the original staff memo to the council incorrectly indicated the lab would be located on Richwoods Boulevard, but following an inquiry from council member John Kelly, Allison clarified the address is on Forrest Hill.
New TIF districts
The meeting meeting also featured two public hearings on proposed new tax increment financing [TIF] districts, one intended to facilitate development of the city-owned PNC Bank Building and adjacent properties, and another focused on redeveloping property around Northwoods Mall.
Richardson said the Adams-Liberty TIF would encompass the downtown square block bordered by Liberty, Jefferson, Harrison and Adams streets, occupied by the PNC Bank Building, the Creve Coeur Building and an adjoined parking deck.
“This plan is going to represent a part of our strategic goal of revitalizing our downtown and incorporating mixed residential and commercial use in our buildings,” she said.
Richardson said 13 parcels within the boundaries of the proposed Northwoods Mall TIF remain vacant.
“Understanding that this area continues to see a higher rate of vacancy and infrastructure deterioration, we wanted to provide some abilities for the city to be able to support some type of financial incentive to get development to continue to happen in that area,” she said.
No residents spoke during either public hearing. Final approval votes for both TIF districts are expected in January.
Other business
Among other actions, the council approved amending the city code to implement a permit process for film productions on parks and public grounds.
“It’s piggybacking on the process we currently have in place for public events, but filming is its own beast,” said Assistant City Attorney Masum Perkins. “The application process would be slightly different, the insurance and bond requirements would be slightly different, and there’s a carve-out for student films, as we acknowledge that student films might not have the same budget as large scale production do.”
Finance director Kyle Cratty presented his monthly unaudited financial report with data through the end of September, highlighting a year-to-date revenue increase of 1.6% compared to 2024.
“We continue to see strong sales tax as well as income tax receipts,” said Cratty.
Items approved as part of the consent agenda include:
- Annual Community Development Block Grant service funding recommendations, totaling $270,000;
- Emergency Solutions Grant recommendations from the Home for All Continuum of Care in the amount of $156,000;
- A low bid of $104,280 for lining selected city sewer segments, as part of an intergovernmental agreement with the Greater Peoria Sanitary District;
- Using $190,000 in motor fuel tax funds for a multi-use path on Pioneer Parkway between Knoxville Avenue and Allen Road;
- Authorizing two murals on exterior walls of a building at 825 SW Adams Street within an historic district;
- Site applications for four different businesses seeking liquor licenses;
- And single appointments to the housing commission and the transportation commission.
The lone Peoria Township action saw approval of the October actual expenditures and the November anticipated expenses.
Mayor Ali acknowledged Deputy City Clerk Courtney Coe for being recognized as the 2025 recipient of the Central Illinois Municipal Clerk’s Organization’s Presidential Award for Distinguished Service.
