The Riverfront Village platform was built in 1999 at a cost of roughly $9.5 million — $4.5 million of which was public tax money that won’t be paid off until 2018.
And yet, despite the fact that it’s only been 11 years, the stairs leading to the platform have rusted “very pre-maturely…to the point that complete replacement is necessary.” The bids are in, and the cost to replace the stairs is more than a quarter million dollars — $265,617 to be exact. Riverfront Village developers Mike Wisdom and Monte Brannan have declined to help with those costs, according to the Request for Council Action. Instead, the council communication says, “The Developers are committed to a separate improvement which will allow access to the platform and pads during periods of high water. It is hoped that the stair improvement and the alternative entry will help the businesses on the pad to prosper.”
Here we have a project that was designed precisely as a solution to the flooding problem. They knew the area floods and so they devised the raised concrete platform as the answer to that challenge. But they used materials for the steps — the part that would be under water during flooding — that evidently were not rust-resistant, and they designed no alternative entry to the platform that could be used during periods of high water. A rather staggering oversight, wouldn’t you say?
Now that the stairs are about to fall off the platform, the developers are not offering to help pay for their replacement. Instead, they’re offering to correct another design flaw, and acting as though that sort of evens the score. I don’t get it. The developers should stand behind their product and incur at least some of the cost of replacing the stairs. And the City should exercise some serious oversight of this new “alternative entry” the Developers want to build to ensure the taxpayers won’t have to replace that, too, in another eleven years.
Is the riverfront village platform owned by the city? No? Then why exactly are we, the citizens of Peoria, being asked to pay for this repair? Oh wait this is Peoria… nevermind.
How about this solution; Tear down the whole thing and restore the park space that was there originally.
According to the council communication, “The stairs and platform are publicly owned by the City.” That’s why the taxpayers are left holding the bag.
“The developers should stand behind their product…
And the City should exercise some serious oversight… ”
ha ha CJ, good one!
This is a PUBLIC project. Caveat Emptor! We are the emptor.
As someone mentioned the other day, our elected officials are honorable people.
Mike Wisdom…… These guys were in this for the money. Period. Thats why our riverfront is nothing but cement. They could care less about the crumbling stairs.
Perhaps the next time Wisdom et al shows up before the council with a new plan, maybe they will think twice before doing business with them?
Has their been a bigger waste of prime real-estate in this area than the riverfront?
I know, I know….the museum will change all this.
I wonder if they are going to replace the steps with one set of steps on each side rather than the double set? There is not enough traffic up there to justify two pairs of steps at both entrances.
If you think the steps are a problem go and look at the underside of the platform. The road salt the city has used for the last decade is taking its toll on the concrete. If you think steps are costly to replace wait until the concrete main beams with exposed rusting rebar need repaired and or replaced. It will cost the city tons of money and it’s their own fault for not maintaining the structure. This platform will become just like the old Sears deck only years sooner. This structure if not repaired will not last another ten years. Remember when the city signed off on this project they took responsiblilty for the concrete platform, everything but the buildings that sit up there. The buildings belong to the developer.
I have not yet read today’s paper (Sunday, 4-25-10), but wonder if any of our local news outlets have discovered this story. It is another example of the value of what CJ does in this area.
we were at Joes Crabshack the other night and saw the stairs for ourselves. its amazing to see how bad those stairs have deteriorated in such a short period of time. the contractor that built these stairs, must be the same contractor that builds the roads around here too.
Peoriafan: The council communication does say they considered reducing expense by going from four sets of steps to two, but “a preliminary analysis showed that four flights were required.” It does not elaborate as to why they are “required.” I’ll see if I can’t get more details on that. If I had to venture a guess, I’d bet it has to do with fire code.
Rebid the project. These costs are too high. Perhaps they city needs to change the parameters of the bid s[ects to just that: BASIC repair.
I’m in agreement with Mahkno. The whole thing is poor. Tear it down and re-do the park!
At this point the money was spent to build the deck. You have three tax paying business’s up there so tearing it down would not make sense. What would make sense is to maintain it! Protect the investment that has been made. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. The city has an obligation to maintain the steps like it or not. They are the ones that approved the poor design to begin with. I am sure four sets of steps has something do with fire codes too.
Remember, Wisdom has proposed a 6 story office building on that pad. The tax revenue generated from that would help the city in the long run.
Parks and green space are not maintenance free either so don’t think they save us money.
A six story office building on what pad? The riverfront?
protect WHOSE investment?
Where are we getting returns of $265,617?
My vote is with Mahkno. It’s been an ugly mess from the start. Pehaps a bid should be sought to bulldoze the entire thing down and begin again.
No no no… no begin again. Return it to a park. The ground really is too low and prone to flooding to place ground floor buildings on.
Perhaps relocate those businesses into that nearby vacant lot…
yea, lets spend a couple million or more to return it to green space.
Of course then you would have to buy out the developer and then reconstruct a couple of restaurants and office. More than likely they would locate to East Peoria and there goes those taxes.
Then the park district would have to take on more parkland to maintain.
Yep, sounds like a good plan to me.
how about not another dime of tax money? What was paid is a sunk cost. But we shouldn’t waste any more money. If it’s that bad, make the developers tear it down and be done with that ugly boondoogle.
Having been a reader and participator on these blogs for awhile now, I have to say I’m disappointed with the lack of snark on this thread. So many easy potshots that could be had: no suggestions to replace the stairs with a skybridge to the new museum or Civic Center; no pointing out that the museum’s construction is beginning with a subterranean parking deck in the same floodplain at hand; no reference to how this is the effect of the mismanagement of District 150. You all disgust me ;-).
In all honesty, I’d rather not throw the baby out with the bathwater and say that, since the stairs are rusting prematurely, we should kick out the tax-generating restaurants and should spend another $million or so to raze it all and rebuild a park at this site. I just wonder if the city took into account the new “alternative entry” being built for periods of high water (which I imagine works equally as well for periods of low water) into their “preliminary analysis” on whether or not they can downsize from four staircases to two.
Ho hum, remmber, this is a world class city. And in a letter to the county last week, Mayor Ardis is blaming the County for holding up construction on the museum. After reading more information on musuems, this one, when opened will be a MAJOR FINANCIAL DRAG ON SOMEBODY. I calculate the project is still under-funded by $14 million. Or more.
Any suspect who will be paying for all this?
Even all the asphalt paving in Peoria County will be world class.
really any better than the school board? The decision on these stairs remind me of the decisions the schoolboard make without weighing all the pros and cons. Was the council duped by developers and staff and failed to do their own homework? Soundds just like the 150 school board.
Peoriafan wrote,
“Parks and green space are not maintenance free either so don’t think they save us money.”
Please stifle yourself. What is your idea? Build a ridiculous museum with tax dollars…, and then support it with more tax dollars? A museum isn’t maintenance free and will inevitably cost the city/county MORE in the long run.
Sterling,
We were making those arguments months ago, prior to the ‘vote.’ No one listened then………
Maybe the school district can donate the Lincoln school funds it doesn’t spend on Central…
I am going to walk up and down those stairs until one gives out.
Then……..LAWSUIT!!!
$265,617 for a set of steps… I could put permanent concrete steps in for… hell, I could build two really nice homes down there for that.
The developers are certainly not going to put a dime into fixing this problem. And if we are not careful we are going to end up in the same mess with the Pere Marquette when something goes wrong that those developers worked on. Then there is the museum and its developers. The City will end up picking up the tab for each and every one of these projects when a couple of years down the road something goes wrong. We put in our investment giving them money for private development and then we have to pay for the bandaids afterwards, forever.
Whoever owns the steps should pay for their upkeep. Im pretty sure thats the city. The cost dosnt seem that out of line for what is there if we are talking about full replacement. Im also assuming that it is Union labor that will be doing the work. If not it wont matter because even if it is non Union labor prevailing wages in Illinois in Peoria county for almost any trade run between 25-30 an hour.
Maybe we could put a turnstile on it charging patrons 25 cents to go up or down them… like a toll booth.