Parking needs in Peoria's Warehouse District are going up along with all the new apartments expected.
While the pandemic has slowed construction throughout the area, conversion of the old Builders Warehouse building, 812 SW Washington St., started before the coronavirus outbreak, is proceeding, said developer David Dubin from his Chicago office.
Once construction is completed at the seven-story site in Downtown Peoria, Dubin looks to offer 125 one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.
"We'll be entirely finished by next year. We're just not sure when," he said.
Michael Freilinger, president/CEO of the Downtown Development Corp., said the addition of so many residential units is big news for the Warehouse District.
"We're pretty excited about it. We expect to see leases available at the Builders Warehouse building by early next year," he said.
"They plan to finish about 17 units at any one time. That's good because we won't see 125 units dropped in at one time," said Freilinger.
The problem is that parking availability in the area was set up for a warehouse environment, not a residential one, he said, adding that while the city has offered to provide a surface lot on Washington Street directly across the street, the single lot won't solve the Warehouse District's parking needs--especially as more residential units come online.
"The old Federal Warehouse building at 800 SW Adams St., to be developed by Casey Baldovin, will probably become available next with some 90 units," he said of the building kitty-corner from the Peoria Chiefs ballpark.
"Between that building and the Builders Warehouse conversion, that's over 210 units for the Warehouse District," said Freilinger.
"You're going to have over 300 people essentially living on one block. That's a significant economic engine for retail and commercial interests in the area," he said.
"We're on our way. This should help us with additional development," said Freilinger.
Other Warehouse District projects in the works include Baldovin's conversion of the William Grawey building, across the street from the Sugar restaurant, that's expected to yield 33 units and 24 units that Larry Winkler is developing next to Winkler Lofts, 733 Washington St.
Dubin, involved with building projects underway in Minnesota, Tennessee and Iowa with plans to build in Texas and South Carolina, said he'd like to see Peoria get a little more competitive when it comes to offering incentives to developers.
"Peoria offers 50 percent of TIF rebates. That was fine in 2012 coming out of the downturn. Other cities now offer 100 percent of TIF rebates," he said.
Along with the state of Illinois extending its historic tax credit program, Dubin also wants to see more parking for his project.
"If you can't park, you can't develop," he said.
Peoria First District Councilwoman Denise Moore conceded the need for a parking facility in the area but said that the pandemic has thrown a wrench into the planning process. "The COVID environment has caused us to rethink finances. It's put everything on pause," she said.
The city had put a Warehouse District parking deck on its wish list for projects eligible for state funding but that was pre-COVID, said Moore.