Repairs and improvements needed at the prominent Twin Towers Place condominiums in Downtown Peoria are set to proceed after a city-aided financing plan gained approval.
The Peoria City Council voted unanimously this week to establish a special service area for the Twin Towers and enter an agreement with the condominium association and a selected lender to fund the work estimated at $2.5 million.
“Twin Towers is certainly a key downtown landmark in Peoria, and so I’m glad to see this move forward,” said Mayor Rita Ali.
The special service area designation will levy an additional property tax on Twin Towers residents to repay the loan, with the agreement running through 2046. The levied tax fee will not exceed $2.75 of every $100 of equalized assessed value.
“This puts us in position to aid a pioneering downtown residential project. This really is an economic development mechanism, but the exposure, the costs are all going to be borne by the owners,” said city attorney Patrick Hayes.
The city’s involvement comes through collecting the property taxes and helping the condo association to secure the loan. The specified lender is expected to be Morton Community Bank, although that had not been finalized at the time of the council vote.
“We wanted to be able to get this done this meeting so that we can do a levy ordinance and get the collection mechanisms going,” said Hayes.
Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich previously told WCBU that a fire at the Twin Towers exhausted the condo association’s reserves, making it necessary for the city to help secure the financing for the necessary work.
The buildings, which opened in 1984, need roof and parking garage repairs, as well as improvements to the electrical, fire suppression and heating-cooling and ventilation systems.
“I just want to reiterate the fact that the city itself, the taxpayers of Peoria, really aren’t on the hook for this,” said council member Alex Carmona. “After doing some research and talking to the Twin Towers members, it seems like really the probably the only way to get some of this deferred maintenance.
“That is not to anybody’s fault who’s currently on the board or anything like that, but just unfortunate that that has happened over time. If we don’t if we don’t pass this, it’ll actually be a to the to a huge detriment to our downtown area.”
The measure passed on an 8-0 vote, with Mike Vespa and Zach Oyler abstaining and Denis Cyr having stepped out of the room.
