If you ever wonder why Peoria is always broke, just take a look at how it has handled the Wonderful Development. It’s poised to give $37 million to EM Properties — $11 million of which will be used to buy a half-acre of buildings along Main Street. But that’s where the World Famous Big Al’s strip club is, so apparently we have to bend over backwards (pun intended) to find them a new place to locate.
The mayor and others constantly make a big deal out of the fact that “they didn’t choose to move; they were asked to move” — the implication being that they decided to move out of the goodness of their heart as a favor to the city. Call me cynical, but I think the $11 million might have had more to do with the decision than mere altruism. It’s one thing to be asked to move, and quite another to be paid handsomely to move.
Most people consider the eleven million taxpayer dollars to be sufficient incentive to move. But not the City. Not by a long shot. First, they changed the adult use ordinance, expanding Big Al’s “grandfather” status to the point that it can move absolutely anyplace it wants. One would think with $11 million, Big Al’s could find someplace in the City that complies with the adult use ordinance as it was, but the City felt this additional incentive was necessary.
But that wasn’t enough, either. Rather than giving Big Al’s the money and letting them find another home like the City did for the residents of Dechman when they were thrown out of their homes to make way for MidTown Plaza, the City took on itself the job of finding another location. The council and, presumably, city staff spent who knows how long looking at other potential sites on behalf of Big Al’s.
And they found one — a parking lot owned by the City of Peoria. One problem: it’s too close to a day care center. No problem! The city’s attorney invented a new definition of “property line” and read it into the code. Then they approved the site for the sale of liquor, despite having no site plan on file from the developer, which is required for any other applicant.
But last night was the coup de grace. After all this special treatment, the City did one last favor for Big Al’s. It sold this taxpayer-owned acre and a half of land at a bargain-basement price of $400,000.
Buy high, sell low. That’s the City’s approach to economic development.
I look forward for a buyout for our home in the new, soon to be approved East Village TIF, the city will not need to find us a new home. We don’t want to stand in the way of the new “economic development” program.
This would be a perfect example of why the OSF Tif will be approved.
I agree with Brad Dunham, and respectfully disagree with Mayor Ardis, that Big Al’s will be the legacy of this coumcil.
Big Als, just like Bradley Basketball and Caterpillar are what “puts Peoria on the map” as the PJStar so appropriately remarked regarding the firing of Jim Les. (not Richard Prior or Betty Friedan, or the Duryea Brothers and the car industry, the liquor or beer industry, not he stock yards, not Lindbergh… no Peoria keeps all of it eggs in as few baskets as possible)
Peoria Proud!
For $37 mil you could throw $5m to Midtown Plaza to stop its bleeding and the hard sell of another TIF. You could have given Big Al the Armory building (ha) for its listed $200k (or any properties on the EDC website for that matter) and let him fix that up. It could be thrown out to fix the “blight” in the surrounding areas. For the $49-77k that is posted on the city’s website you could have paid for more full-time police officers. Maybe some street lights, fix a couple roads. I don’t know…just a couple things come to mind.
Now you know why Big Al has been fairly quiet and going along with it the whole time. He and his harem of ladies aren’t the problem, the city and this fumbling around looks like too many people are trying to move the puppets at once. Turner himself said “it will go through” so even at the possibility of doing more good for the city as a whole they would rather put it worse off.
EM Properties is responsible for the Big Boxing of East Peoria, they can’t be hurting for money. So if they can pretty much develop an entire area to drain employment, taxes and whatnot from the City of Peoria why are they the ones bending over backwards for EM? It just doesn’t add up to a good idea.
It’s funny how the City Council “bends over backwards” to accommodate one strip club to move next to a day care center while it does everything it can to stop another strip club from operating about a couple thousand yards from an apartment complex.
East Peora gets a new Bass Pro
Peora gets a new Brass Pole
Way to go Peoria!
Well, people, I agree with CJ on this and many other city matters. All we can do to make change is vote. So there better be a landslide of voters out there to vote out these people (at least half of them) and install some new thinkers. Otherwise, if they retain their seats, we will get it in the seat again. (pun intended)
Approximately 65,475 SF. $6.11/SF. That’s criminal. The parking lot should have been sold for at least $12/SF – more likely, $15/SF. This is OUR money that has been squandered.
Every member of the City Council who voted in favor of this sale should be replaced at his/her next election. This includes the mayor.
We can start on April 5.
C.J. is just one of the candidates we need to vote for. I am also considering either Chuck Grayeb or Chuck Weaver, and definitely for George Azouri and Beth Akeson. The only incumbent who should return to the council is Gary Sandberg, who had the integrity and audacity to condemn the actions of the Council and vote against the sale. There are several others who are not up for re-election who need to be replaced, including hizonner, but we can make a good start by ensuring the clowns who voted for this farce and the TIF’s do not return to office.