If you’re Marriott Hotels and you don’t want to see a strip club across the street from your property, the City of Peoria will work tirelessly to find a new location for the strip club. If you’re a lawyer and you don’t want a strip club on your street, the City of Peoria will work tirelessly to find a new location for the strip club. If you’re a large church and you don’t want to see a strip club down the block from your property, the City of Peoria will work tirelessly to find a new location for the strip club. If you’re a small-business owner running a daycare center and you have no political clout, but you don’t want a strip club next door to your business, the City of Peoria will say there’s no place else the strip club can locate.
The strip club owner was going to remodel the Madison Theater (which is currently in a terrible state of disrepair). By chasing them away from the Madison parking lot location, those remodeling plans are apparently scrapped, according to the Journal Star. So the council has helped scuttle plans for revitalization of an historic property. This is not particularly surprising, given the council’s demonstrated apathy toward historic preservation.
Meanwhile, the stated purpose of this move — to make way for a new hotel on the Pere Marquette block — is still missing in action. The project was approved way back in 2008, but to date the project has not begun. A change to the redevelopment agreement approved by the council on May 25, 2010, stated that the project should commence within one year. Almost nine months have passed since that agreement was signed.
All of this angst about a project that is so shaky, it can’t seem to get started despite an infusion of $37 million in taxpayer money and extraordinary help from the City in moving the strip club off the block.
Look for more tax money to go down this rat hole before it gets started.
With better leadership on the PEoria CC, this stuff would not be happening! And Ardis now want a promotion to the General Assembly. Kick him upstairs?
The Marriot is turning into Midtown on steroids.
Chasing them away from the Madison location will go down as another one of Peoria’s great blunders. What a shame.
Ardis isn’t wanting apromtion he is trying to find a job. He no longer works fro ELM from what I heard, and the city is going down the tubes so he needs to jump ship, collect a nice state pension and retire. He needs to go.
My question is will the City sell the property to Big Al’s for one dollar? That seems to be the going price for City property these days.
I thought I read that Mayor Ardis left Elm for another job. I think he is employed.
PCMan,
I don’t know how they can. I believe it’s not legal. They have to declare the property surplus and then invite competitive bids. While they can give land to another governmental body, I believe (unless I’m mistaken) the city either needs to put the property out for competitive bid, or declare it surplus and auction it off.
It’s different with over governmental bodies. The city gave the county the land for $1, or leased it to them, not sure which. In exchange, the county gave the city Urich 🙂
Any one else see a connection here?
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/02/hotel_pornography
District 150 observer “I thought I read that Mayor Ardis left Elm for another job.”
ELM sold off some of their local business interests (specifically underground utility identification in Illinois) of which I believe Mayor Ardis was involved in. I have no idea if he is employed by them currently or not, nor know why it matters.
Oh, I didn’t bring it up. Somebody else did. Shrugs.
The strip club was supposed to go in the parking lot behind the Madison not in the Madison. I never had much faith in the owner of a strip club doing an historic renovation of the Madison anyway. Let’s not forget that a bid part of the Marriot project is the Pere restoration. If the new hotel does not happen I am sure the Pere will be left as is (which is uncompetitive with the Embassy Suites) and risks the same fate as Jumers Castle Lodge. The Pere needs the Marriot for some of the shared amenities to be successful. I am not a fan of the public participation in the project and the development fees but this really will be a boost for downtown and that part of Main St.
“I am not a fan of the public participation in the project and the development fees but this really will be a boost for downtown and that part of Main St….”
Kind of like the Peoria Regional Museum…?
How will the development fees be a boost for downtown and that part of Main St? The development fees go to the developer for his use.
The construction of the project will be a boost for local contractors and for their employees but is that really a good justification for that financial investment of a public funds? Is that really the best use of public funds given the current budget situation of the City of Peoria (or even if the situation was good is that the best use?)?
I would be more concerned what that block of Main St would look like if the hotel development does not meet the financial projections and fails. If this project is so wonderful then why has the developer been unable to raise the private investment dollars or secure the private financing for this project? Why is he being so silent about the status of the project when he has been vocal in the past?
I bet that we see a lot of activity from the City of Peoria between now and the April election. While I am not sure who will win the seats up for election, enough potential for change exists to try and get this project moved further along before the new council is elected and seated.
Good catch Mademedia. Politicians apparently will do and say anything, and associate with anyone for money. After all, it is money that makes the world go ’round. It is good to see that The Marriott has realized in this day of WiFi it is unnecessary to provide the porn… the customer can surf for it themselves. (Will they go the next step and put filters on their servers???)
“Oh, I didn’t bring it up. Somebody else did. Shrugs.”
Geesh! How difficult is it to look up?
Since 2010, he has been Executive Director of Corporate Strategies for Peoria-based Axis, Inc., part of Jupiter Strategic Technologies Pvt. Ltd. of Bangalore, India.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jim-ardis/27/ab/71b
http://www.axis-inc.com/axisinc/index.php
Good catch Mademedia. Politicians apparently will do and say anything, and associate with anyone for money. After all, it is money that makes the world go ’round. It is good to see that The Marriott has realized in this day of WiFi it is unnecessary to provide the porn… the customer can surf for it themselves. (Will they go the next step and put filters on their servers???)
“Oh, I didn’t bring it up. Somebody else did. Shrugs.”
Geesh! How difficult is it to look up?
Since Nov 2010, he has been Executive Director of Corporate Strategies for Peoria-based Axis, Inc., part of Jupiter Strategic Technologies Pvt. Ltd. of Bangalore, India.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jim-ardis/27/ab/71b
http://www.axis-inc.com/axisinc/index.php
Not difficult, Charlie, I just didn’t have the interest in the subject matter to take the time. You obviously did.
Thanks.
[face palm]
You are welcome.
Moral of the story…make sure you’re a “have” and not a “have not”
@outsidethebox –
Truly a statement of our times.
District Watch meeting this Sunday,6pm at Monical’s.