Three businesses were awarded grants totaling $104,000 from the city of Pekin that will help pay for renovations to their buildings.
The tax increment financing [TIF] commercial improvement grants were approved 6-1 on Monday by the Pekin City Council.
Rick Hilst cast the lone "no" vote. Dave Nutter voted "yes," but said he has a concern with the application process.
"Are we not holding people's feet to the fire to fill out the application 100%? One of them was pretty much blank," Nutter said. "We need to have a business fill out its application completely."
Josh Wray, the city's economic development director, said most projects don't have line items for some costs on the application.
The three businesses getting grants are Nash-Hasty Private Wealth Management, 531 Court St.; Ewe's Treasures Resale Shop, 901 Court St.; and Sculptures Day Spa, 2810 Court St.
Nash-Hasty plans to move to downtown Pekin from its current location at 1605 W. Candletree Dr. in Peoria. Founder-owner Todd Hasty, a lifelong Pekin resident, was awarded a $47,500 grant.
Deverman Advertising and Photography by Deverman were the former occupants at 531 Court St.
Ewe's Treasures raises funds for Good Shepherd Lutheran School in Pekin through its sales. It was awarded a $35,500 grant.
Sculptures plans to move from its current location at 101 N. 4th St. in Pekin. It was awarded a $21,000 grant.
A TIF agreement will be prepared for each business. Each must be approved by the council.
In a TIF, new tax money generated by a project is diverted back into a designated area for redevelopment.
This was the second round of commercial building improvement grants. Applications were received from the three businesses that received them.
The city's 2026-27 fiscal year budget allocates $200,000 for the grant program. The first round included $146,000 in grants for six businesses, but one rejected a $50,000 grant, leaving $104,000 available.
Derby drive-through
In other business news from Monday's meeting:
• Council approved a special use permit for a drive-through requested by Sarbjit Singh, who plans to renovate the former Save-a-Lot at 1105 Derby St. and convert the building into a laundromat and convenience store.
• Council approved a special use permit requested by Pekin Ford to operate a new and used automobile dealership at 2200 and 2130 N. 8th St. Pekin Ford is acquiring the dealership from Gallery Ford. A special use is required for the outdoor display and sale of new and used automobiles in the B-3 district.
• Council learned JPG Commercial Real Estate of Peoria has backed away from purchasing city-owned property in front of Menard's on Court Street because of the JPG owner's health issues. JPG's real estate and TIF agreements with the city are now being handled by a retailer that wants to build there. Dec. 14 remains the deadline for the purchase of the property.
