A former furniture store on the Northwest side of Peoria now houses furniture of a different kind -- hospital beds, white boards and lab stations.
After more than a year of construction, Methodist College unveiled its new campus on the Northwest side of town Mon. The college chose to retrofit the vacated American Furniture Building, less than a mile west of the Shoppes at Grand Prairie.
Methodist College President Kim Johnston says the site was a wise choice based on its location and specifications, like ample space to expand.
“We have seen the number of students for example Dunlap increase, but the move out here was truly [because] the building was perfect," Johnston said. "We could gut that building and build what we wanted and we had adequate space that we already owned for residence."
UnityPoint Health owns the vacant 13-acre lot behind the building where a new student apartment complex now stands. The project received $1.2 million in donations from the UnityPoint Health - Methodist | Proctor Foundation.
UnityPoint Vice President of Hospital Operations and Chief Nursing Officer Jeanine Spain says the college comes at a crucial time, when many hospitals face shortages in skilled nursing staff. Unity Point Health currently has more than 100 vacant nursing positions.
Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis says the four-year college is the “missing piece” for continued development in the area that has seen growth in retail and dining in the past decade.
“Now we brought that education concept into it too, so this really does to a great job of setting that foundation in a really strong place,” Ardis said.
The $17 million facility includes 14 classrooms, three science labs, simulation labs and student housing.