Peoria’s Warehouse District is seeing significant interest for new businesses and community projects. That’s the message shared by multiple developers at yesterday’s Peoria Downtown Advisory Commission meeting. There are multiple factors behind the boost in investment:
The advisory commission heard from new business owners choosing the Warehouse District to set up shop. Jason Pacey is planning to open a bar called 8-Bit this fall. He says it’s going to be a barcade. That’s where patrons can get drinks and play classic arcade games from the 80s and 90s. Pacey says when looking for places to open, it had to be in the Warehouse district:
“The riverfront that’s exciting. It’s still in its infancy, and the whole area blowing up, it’d be great to be part of that.”
Pacey says his barcade will be in the former Creek restaurant building at the corner of State and Water Streets.
Pacey is a tenant of Peoria developer Pat Sullivan. Sullivan says that fashion clothing business Lily V Designs is already open above the former Rhodell’s brewery location. Sullivan says there’s always moderate business interest in the Warehouse District:
“It’s been simmering, but once Caterpillar made their announcement, it’s boiled.”
Sullivan is referring to Cat’s plans to build a six-acre campus for its new world headquarters in the coming years.
Another factor for the Warehouse District is the growing interest of Millennials in wanting to live and work in the same area. That’s according to developer Katie Kim, owner of the Kim Group. She says that desire by young professionals is getting noticed:
“And now we’re seeing some businesses that have kind of said ‘Hey I need to attract that younger workforce, move back downtown because that’s where they can get the people they need to grow their business and expand.”
Kim says her firm also is converting a manufacturing building on Southwest Adams to commercial and residential unit space, with other mixed-use projects planned for the Warehouse District.
But the area also could see other projects that boost community investment. The non-profit group Adams Street Foundation seeks to convert the property at 1212 South West Adams Street into a vocational boarding house. That means it would offer convicted criminals and substance abusers two-year residential training in various job skills.
Becky Frye is a downtown advisory commission member, and her company, D&B Developers, owns Water Street Solutions and also bought the property at SouthWest Adams Street. Frye says the goal is to turn over the property to the non-profit Adams Street Foundation for the program. She says the goal is to reintegrate residents into society through job training:
“The idea is to change behaviors, change thinking, teach them how to work, teach them how to respect each other, and they really become in those two years a family.”
Frye says locating the vocational boarding house in the Warehouse District had several advantages for those in the program:
“It’s close to the bus station, there’s some much happening downtown, that we thought it would be just a great place for our guys to be and to be able to partner with the community, do community service, be a voice down there.”
Frye says the vocational training house would open this fall by meeting its fundraising goals to ready the house for occupancy.
The Warehouse District is also seeing additional investment with mixed commercial and residential space at the Murray Building and a new restaurant, Thyme, opening in the Sealtest building later this year.
Another likely factor for increased interest in the Warehouse District is the roads. Last month, the City of Peoria celebrated finishing three years of major construction work in the downtown by revamping main roads and adding a roundabout in the area.