City leaders in East Peoria this week authorized a $5.2 million purchase of undeveloped land adjacent to city limits, in part to guarantee oversight of how the property gets developed.
Mayor John Kahl stressed there will be no data center or solar facility on the city-owned parcels, hoping instead to foster residential development.
In the resumption of a quarterly interview series, Kahl said optimizing city growth is a key component of the 20-year comprehensive plan adopted in January.
“From my perspective, I think a lot of what we hope to see — that we’ve lacked, quite honestly, and it’s something you see a lot in the news media topics of discussion — is new housing,” said Kahl. “Part of our comprehensive plan is protecting those areas of opportunity for residential growth.
“East Peoria is landlocked, so literally [all] you have heading east towards Washington off Centennial [Drive], there’s still opportunity for growth there. Then south of Muller Road, that area, which is currently farmland — that’s it. That’s our only areas of growth, so we felt it was very important to include those areas in the comprehensive plan.”
The city got a bit of a win in February when the Illinois Gaming Board approved Boyd Gaming's revised plans to redevelop the Par-A-Dice Casino at the existing East Peoria location. That brought an end to Peoria’s attempt to lure the gambling facility to a land-based operation across the Illinois River.
“Listen, I don’t really view it that way. I’ve always held the position — and Peoria knows this, whether they want to acknowledge that or not — that Boyd is a private company,” said Kahl. “I support Boyd, no matter what their decision was. I never wavered in that position.
“We’re excited to see them reinvest in East Peoria, but the way I look at it — and I’m sincere about this — it’s a win for the Greater Peoria region. It really is.”
In March of last year, East Peoria established a Riverfront tax increment financing [TIF] district intended to spark development of an area stretching from the casino property to the Bass Pro Shops location.
“That was kind of the last piece of the puzzle,” said Kahl. “If you look at East Peoria and the development they started down in the Levee District along the riverfront, and then obviously loop back around the on other side of the interstate, the long-term goal is to tie all that in so you have access all the way around.
“What we really hope to see is a lot more mixed use, whether that’s commercial, more retail. We’d like to see some residential built into it, similar to what we’re doing on the Levee District side of things. That’s our goal.”
The residential component in the Levee District is bolstered by the mixed-use BluTowne building that opened next to City Hall.
“That took seven, close to eight years to come to fruition, and when [the developers] did their study, they were confident in their business model and that there was a demand here. Boy, they were right, that thing filled up,” said Kahl.
“As I see the new residents moving in, and City Hall’s right next door, it allows me the opportunity to introduce myself when I meet folks on the sidewalk, and they’re using Levee Park, and you see them going to the stores. One of the things that’s appealing, not just the amenities that BluTowne has to offer, but just the proximity to everything.”
Kahl said the BluTowne developers have committed to pursuing a second phase of development toward Center Street, near where the city has purchased property with the intent to build a mixed residential and entertainment area.
“The design will incorporate, [and] give the city the ability to close that roadway down [but] still have full access to the Richland neighborhood and Costco, obviously,” he said. “There will be some commercial businesses on the opposite side to allow for some entertainment components, but our goal originally was to try to get something jump started by this fall.”
Police headquarters
East Peoria recently transitioned its police staff to the new $21.6 million department headquarters on Camp Street near Clock Tower Drive. Kahl said the price for the modernized 40,000-square-foot building was not out of line.
“I see some of the criticism about, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s overkill.’ No, it’s not,” the mayor said. “Here’s why we did things, what I call the right way to do things. It’s a 50-year build. The current station that housed the police department, if folks were afforded the opportunity to go through that space, which was about 6,500 square feet, we outgrew that 30 years ago.
“This was a much needed facility, and it’s state of the art. But the whole notion in doing what we did is a 50-year build. Oftentimes, as politicians, you kind of cut corners to save pennies and it tends to cost you more money in the long run. But I think an investment in public safety demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that East Peoria remains safe.”
