A pending property sale that would see O’Brien Steel acquire land near the Illinois River from the Detweiller Trust has drawn scrutiny from some community members over the potential loss of river access and green space.
Last week, the Peoria Park District Board narrowly voted down a proposal tied to the sale that would’ve expanded the right-of-way along the Rock Island Greenway Trail in the area.
Another potential aspect of the sale would see the City of Peoria vacate Caroline Street near the Detweiller Marina. In an interview with WCBU, Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich said the city would look for an alternative access point.
“At this point, Caroline Street is still open and access to the marina occurs,” said Urich. “If that sale goes through and access to the marina is closed off at Caroline Street, I think that it would be incumbent on the city to look at what we could do to provide access to the marina on Spring Street.”
Critics of the sale have said it goes against the original wishes established in 1947 when Tommy Detweiller willed the land to the public.
“I know that many of the residents don’t want Caroline Street to be closed, but quite frankly, as the city manager, I’m not sure that we want to maintain a street that is surrounded on all three sides by an industrial business operation,” said Urich, adding the likely scenario would see Peoria either vacate the roadway or negotiate a sale with O’Brien Steel.
“We would be plowing a street that is surrounded by an industrial property owner. There would be no public reason for anyone to be on that street, so that’s the reason why.”
Urich said maintaining public access to the river and seeing the entirety of the riverfront remains a priority.
“My understanding from the last proposed sale, there is no riverfront property that is being proposed to be sold. This is a portion that is currently a parking lot, and then another portion of some green space that abuts the railroad tracks,” he said.
“The city has spent a considerable amount of money acquiring land along the Peoria riverfront to ensure that there is public access. You have public access from the Bob Michel Bridge to Spring Street before you get to the trust. Almost all of that land — and that stretch is owned by the city, some of it the park district, [and] there are a couple of private property owners in that area — we have made a 50-year effort to try to ensure that we had access to that riverfront for the public.”
