The Bradley Scout has been keeping an eye on the new Main Street Commons and how quickly the new student housing facility is selling leases:
More than half of the apartments at Main Street Commons have yet to be leased, but both university administration and Main Street Commons are still optimistic.
“I’m really excited about second semester,” said Jennifer Dunbar, the building’s marketing specialist and leasing agent. “We had a slow first semester. It’s hard to lease a building when you can’t give a tour.”
Of the 188 units available only 88 have been leased, which is about double the number of units that were leased in November.
…Even though Bradley is financially involved in the building, Vice President of Student Affairs Alan Galsky said he is hopeful and would be surprised if Main Street Commons isn’t completely filled by the fall.
“I am cautiously optimistic the building will fill up,” he said. “We would like to see the whole building filled with Bradley students. If not, Main Street Commons is prepared to fill it with other students in the area such as medical students and graduate students.”
Main Street Commons is the multi-story apartment building being constructed on the site of the old Walgreens on West Main Street.
This is one of the rare positive developments in that area since Walgreens was an eyesore, but I’d like to see the medical students living in rehabbed north valley & East bluff houses & apartment buildings. That is one of OSFs biggest missed opportunities to please preservationists and provide safe housing and walkable neighborhoods for their students & patients.
We still have no clue what the retail strategy is for this project, though both the neighborhoods and BU students would like to see a small, independent grocer there.
I could not agree more. I hate the fact that Krogers and that stupid new HyVee are the closest grocery stores to that area. It’s one reason I refuse to shop at that HyVee. It’s so insulting that they built it there, across from a well established Krogers store when there are so many parts of town that have no grocery store! The lack of respect & foresight these megastores have for the citizens of a community is astounding. Every other college I’ve ever visited has a grocery store and several restaraunts in the near vacinity of the school, but I guess that doesn’t play in Peoria.
If there aren’t enough Bradley students, Galsky wants to fill in with med students and graduate students. Graduate students from which school exactly? There are no other graduate degree granting institutions in town.
Notice the cheap looking formed brick wall on the West side? Looks nothing like the picture on the sign out front. In fact the wall already looks like crap with stains on it.
Why is it your business Conrad what the retail strategy is? Are you footing the bill? Move on to your next issue to whine about!
Gee “smiles” a little harsh huh? Maybe they will have 3 Cash Stores and a Verizon outlet? I too would like to know because it will affect everyone in that area because you can bet they will have to do something about Main Street being so close to the store fronts.
Actually, “Smiles” it is my business- and that of all Peoria taxpayers. The City granted that business “Enterprise Zone” status, which means it does get some public incentives. The public was told there would be retail, so there needs to be some. If you have a problem understand this, please feel free to come out from behind the alias you are hding behind and ask me to explain it to you.
The retail is filling up and you will be pleased.
kohlrabi
March 25, 2011 at 1:46 pm
If there aren’t enough Bradley students, Galsky wants to fill in with med students and graduate students. Graduate students from which school exactly? There are no other graduate degree granting institutions in towns.
**Hey Genius, there are four major hospitals in/near Peoria…students come to do their clinical and internships. They often stay at Bradley with permission of housing as they are “students” and/or rent in the area.