City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Civic Center

Council says no to TIF for Civic Center hotel

7 Comments

The City Council tonight decided (4-6) not to add the Civic Center property to the proposed Warehouse District TIF, despite heavy lobbying from the Civic Center Authority.

I think this was the right decision. The Civic Center property has no business being in a TIF at all, let alone the Warehouse District. Despite their protestations to the contrary, I’ll bet the Civic Center Authority is back before the council soon with another plan to lure a hotel to their site — this time without requiring a TIF.

7 thoughts on “Council says no to TIF for Civic Center hotel”

  3. I fully agree with the Eagle View TIF. I’m still not sold on the Warehouse District TIF, but it’s good to see the Council stand up to the Civic Center Authority and leave them out of the district.

  4. Doesn’t anyone else think this might be short-sighted (doubtful anyone who reads this blog)? TIF may be evil, but it would seem to be one of the few tools available. The vote last night, if you believed Morris et al, wasn’t about an eminent deal — it was about giving Peoria options in the future. According to the mayor and CJ, the property itself doesn’t qualify for the TIF (but the rules still allow its inclusion). I suggest y’all use a fine tooth comb and exclude every non-qualifying property from the TIF, too. A standard is a standard.

  5. Some Guy: TIF districts aren’t evil. I’m in favor of the Eagle View TIF and the Warehouse District TIF. I believe they are good examples of how TIFs should be used. Adding the Civic Center property to it is a good example of how TIFs are often abused. Show me another property in either proposed TIF that just did a $60 million publicly-funded renovation and is already receiving HRA taxes, and I will write my council members today asking for that property to also be excluded from the TIF.

  6. It’s a harder sell to add a thriving property to a TIF than one which is declining and lacking investment. The Warehouse TIF boundaries were a defined are which required specific TIF improvements. The TIF should’ve outlined the characteristics of the area, the need for the TIF and the prevelent blight (or lack of investment district-wide). The fine toothed comb is pulling and preventing this rather large obstacle from tainting an otherwise supportable TIF.

  7. Well, I don’t know exactly how much public money has gone into the riverfront, but there are lots of properties along there that are in the new TIF. Should we take out the property directly across the street from the Civic Center, too?

    I think the problem was adding this property after the fact. But I guess the argument just would have been on different grounds if it had been included from the get-go. I just think this is all very short-sighted. Is it a misuse of the TIF law? Maybe. But it is legal. I hope the city can find a hotel to go there that doesn’t need an incentive, because I think Peoria will be better off for it. If not, we’ll have a nicely landscaped parking lot for decades to come.

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