Tag Archives: East Village TIF

City of Peoria, East Bluff, TIF

East Village TIF meeting tonight

5 Comments

I just found out about this meeting that’s taking place tonight:

CITY OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS
EAST VILLAGE GROWTH CELL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING

TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011
AT 6:00 P.M.

GLEN [OAK] COMMUNITY LEARNING
CENTER LIBRARY
2100 N WISCONSIN AVE
PEORIA, IL 61603

CALL TO ORDER

ROLL CALL

APPROVAL OF MARCH 1, 2011 MINUTES

I. WORKSHOP SESSION TO REFINE THE EVGC RESIDENTIAL REHABILITAION PROGRAM. THE MEETING WILL BE FACILITATED BY ROSS BLACK, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT

III. OLD BUSINESS

IV. NEW BUSINESS

CITIZEN REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE

ADJOURNMENT

It doesn’t necessarily matter that I didn’t hear about it, since I live in the West Bluff. But I hope East Bluff residents did hear about it and are planning to attend. Also, I didn’t mistype the notice above — item number II is missing in the original notice I received.

East Bluff, OSF St. Francis, TIF

Public skeptical of East Village plans

5 Comments

The Journal Star covered the public meeting Monday night on the proposed East Village TIF. They report that most people were concerned about eminent domain being used the way it was in the MidTown Plaza TIF. Also, this:

Other concerns expressed by residents focused on what type of development OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, which is also included within the TIF district’s boundaries, might have.

Sue Wozniak, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said there are no specific projects planned. She said in the future, the hospital would be supportive of developing privately owned medical offices that would help generate taxes that would go toward paying public projects – such as sidewalks and road repairs – within the district.

With all due respect, I find this very difficult to believe. OSF is spearheading this effort to establish the East Village TIF. You’re telling me they have no specific plans to take advantage of this TIF once it’s established? Really? This is just a shot in the dark for OSF?

In July, Ron Jost, Vice President of Strategic and Facility Planning for OSF St. Francis Medical Center, was interviewed on WCBU’s “Outside the Horseshoe” program.

Finally, [Jost] explained that OSF is looking at further expansion. Specifically, they’ve acquired the White School and Irving School buildings from District 150, and they’re planning to build a 100,000-200,000 square foot building to house a simulation/conference center for training purposes. They’d like to expand south of Greenleaf Street. Jost also said they would be interested in seeing if there are “other parties” who would be willing to develop and provide housing that could replace OSF’s current dormitory.

Those sound like specific plans to me. They know the location they want to expand, they know what they want built, and they’re looking for an interested developer. Why doesn’t Wozniak just level with the neighbors like Jost did?

City of Peoria, East Bluff, Economic Development, Peoria Public Schools

Open discussion on Peoria High and East Village TIF

28 Comments

I have mixed feelings about the recent windfalls of state money Peoria has been told its getting. In the news recently have been announcements that we’re getting $10 million to upgrade Washington Street and $17 million to renovate Peoria High School and build an addition onto Lincoln Middle School.

On the one hand, the money is going for a good cause, and we can certainly use it. On the other hand, the State of Illinois is in a financial crisis, and this additional spending is not helping to alleviate it.

It has led to an interesting question that I didn’t expect to hear while we’re still reeling from the recent recession: what should we do with all the money? Of course, the Warehouse District money is pretty cut and dried. But the District 150 money is another story. I got this comment recently from school board member Jim Stowell:

CJ – can I please ask if you could open the question of how we should best develop PHS and the surrounding feeder system/neighborhoods – what collaborations we should explore, etc. Thx! In light of the recent funding grant, there exists tremendous opportunity. I am optimistic about the East Bluff residential TIF, but I also have reservations. The Dist. will no doubt be convening meetings, but the discussion needs to begin now. Thanks for providing a forum.

I’d kind of sworn off open threads a while back, but this does sound like it would be an interesting discussion. Other readers have expressed interest in this as well. So, always being happy to oblige my readers, here’s an open thread to discuss Peoria High and the proposed East Village TIF.

I’ll just add that while Mr. Stowell may be “optimistic about the East Bluff residential TIF,” that doesn’t appear to be the official opinion of District 150. The District’s interim comptroller Dr. David Kinney has been attending recent City Council meetings, and when I asked him why, he said it was in case an opportunity came to speak about the proposed TIF. He’s not what you’d call a fan of the idea. On its face, he says it’s a recipe for disaster. The preferred outcome is that it would encourage families to move back into the East Bluff. If it’s successful in doing so, it will require more services from District 150 to educate the increasing number of children, but provide no additional tax revenue to support them. Thus, it would put even more of a strain on District 150’s already stretched finances.

The proposed East Village TIF area is currently being studied for eligibility (this is perfunctory, as no proposed TIF has ever been found ineligible), with the consultant’s report scheduled to come before the council November 9.