Approval of plans to turn a former homeless shelter and mental health facility into a 12-bedroom halfway house for parolees remain on hold after another deferral by the Peoria City Council.
GRO Community wants to operate the halfway house at 1924 SW Adams St., currently a vacant building on the city’s South Side, a few blocks away from the Warehouse District.
Representatives of GRO appeared before the council at Tuesday’s meeting after the original consideration was deferred from Nov. 18.
“Every project we pursue undergoes a strict and comprehensive due diligence process to ensure that we are investing responsibly, and that our work contributes meaningfully to the communities we serve,” said Francine Poole, GRO Community’s director of real estate and development.
Poole said GRO Community has been awarded a $475,000 grant from the Illinois Housing Development Authority [IHDA] for the Peoria project. She said they have an agreement to purchase the site for $207,500, leaving more than $250,000 to rehabilitate the property.
“Much of the construction work will be performed by GRO Construction, our internal construction division,” said Poole.
Council member Tim Riggenbach expressed skepticism that it would be enough funding for the necessary repairs.
“The budget is just not realistic, so I think there needs to be further discussion,” he said in support of the deferral until the council’s second meeting in January. “I definitely see the need for more time on this.”
The group’s proposal calls for 12 bedrooms designed for transitional housing residents, common areas for dining, group activities and recreation, and shared bathroom and kitchen facilities. GRO would have three regular staff at the property between 8 a.m.-4 p.m., with one security worker present around the clock.
Council member Zach Oyler asked Poole if the group has consulted any of the owners of surrounding properties about having the halfway house in the area.
“I was around there and I didn’t really see any real businesses that were thriving. I mean, the position where that Adam Street property is, is on a corner and it’s kind of desolate,” said Poole, drawing an immediate response from Oyler.
“Well, I think one of the neighbors who’s here next door would probably take exception to you saying their business isn’t thriving,” he said.
“I apologize to that owner; what I mean is, that we didn’t recognize a lot of businesses there because the position of where the property is,” Poole responded. “The property sits back off of Adams, so it sits on a corner, so there’s not a lot of activity right there.”
Council member Denise Jackson, who represents the First District where the halfway home would be located, said the surrounding area is largely industrial, adding she recently attended a neighborhood meeting and no concerns about the halfway house were raised.
The motion before the council was for approval of a special use permission to operate the halfway house. Council member Andre Allen was the only member to vote against the deferral.
Another concern Oyler raised ahead of both deferrals was whether the halfway house would be bringing in tenants originally from outside Peoria.
“One of the most important things is, if we’re coming into a city, we want to work with that city,” said Gregory Williams, GRO Community’s Director of Reentry. “We’re working with the men that are returning home to this city, and so usually that’s the residents of this city. We don’t go outside the city to get residents for this program. We work within the city limits.”
Council member Bernice Gordon-Young suggested the council make it clear to GRO Community precisely what additional information it would need to be provided before a decision is made.
“I feel like they should have been told this before this meeting, at the initial deferral, that they needed to meet with business owners because we keep moving the line,” said Gordon-Young. “So, can we at least give them some idea of what the expectation is, so that they know? Then when they come back, we’re not moving the line again.”
Poole said the second deferral will set the project timeline back further.
“We have a seller that’s eager to get this done, [and] IHDA was anticipating us to have an answer for them on whether or not this special use permit was going to be granted,” she said. “So we have to go back to IHDA and restructure our meetings because of this.”
