“Our goal is to make Riverfront Village the first thing you think about when you think, ‘What are we going to do this weekend?'” Wisdom said. “You think Riverfront Village.”
–Riverfront Village developer Mike Wisdom, July 15, 1995
Toward that effort, Heartland Partnership will be moving into the old Damon’s Grill on Monday. Woo hoo! Will the fun never end down on the riverfront? I don’t know about you, but when I think, “what are we going to do this weekend?” I think “Heartland Partnership”! Just check out all the exciting things they have to offer for riverfront visitors and tourists:
That space has been converted to resemble nothing like a restaurant, but rather 10,000 square feet of open office space, multiple meeting spaces and few closable doors aimed at allowing the 37 staffers the ability to communicate freely while creatively serving their clientele, McConoughey said.
“It was designed to be open to stimulate communication and collaborative efforts. We don’t need big offices. We want to be able to conference when necessary and do what we can to make sure our clients and the community get what they need from us,” he said….
I hope this exciting development makes it into brochures advertising Peoria. Who wouldn’t want to see staffers communicating? And collaborating? Oooo, I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it. The synergy is palpable!
http://www.peoriariverfront.com
Actually, CJ’s right. The platform has failed. The city’s efforts on the riverfront have failed. They have put all their eggs into the museum basket and it didn’t work.
Personally, I wish a Rainforest Cafe or something could have gone in there. But this is the city where people will walk a huge parking lot rather than one block on the riverfront.
It’s a shame, really. The riverfront could have been something and it might still be. They need to get more people down there with either bars or clubs or something to give it an identity. I wish them well.
I’ve noticed something. Having come from another area when you get here you are expected to know where things are. For instance in the above mentioned website it says that there is parking directly across from the Illinois Antique Center. How is a visitor to the area supposed to know where that is? Its like saying something is in North Point Shopping Center or Grand Praire Shops. Where are these places and how do you get there? People are not going to look them up in the phone book and not everybody carries a lap top or PDA or Blackberry to be able to find directions. Wake up Peoria and detail where these locations are if you want people to visit them and spend their money.
O.K. I guess I have no choice now. I would like to offer the services of my consulting firm [The New Voice Consulting Firm, Ink]. For a PALTRY $500,000.00, I will brainstorm and come up with something this city can really use. Woooooooooo, I can feel the ideas rolling in already. I will guarantee only one thing; my plan will not have the words collaboration, synergy, partnership or legacy in it! My plan will also save everyone a great deal of valuable time. I am going straight to the tax payers…. immediately! HAH! SWEET!
I might even lower my fee if I can build MY office building where that big hole is now. Think on it. I’m gonna go drinking.
It is not to late. Get rid of the stilt village.
I pretty much agree with anonymous about the importance of giving the riverfront an identity, but it seems like things that have been on the riverfront that are unique to Peoria fail, e.g. Crooked Waters. I don’t have an explanation as to why.
In the four years since I moved away from Peoria, I’ve come to realize that there’s much about the city that I do miss and that Peoria has far more going for it than many Peorians realize or want to acknowledge. Still, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a city that comes as frustratingly short of its potential as Peoria does. It won’t ever be Bud Grives’ San Francisco of the Midwest, but there’s no reason why it can’t be a thriving city that’s attractive to everyone from young professionals to retirees. So many of the pieces are there just begging to be utilized, but for some reason it just doesn’t always happen.
Storm 72-
Peoria falls short because we have not put a high priority on city planning and because Peoria has ignored the importance staff development. How can we rely on staff if they have not had the necessary training?
Carver, Maloof, Grieves, and Ransburg were either selfish or reactionary leaders. They were consumed by personal interests and political power. I hoped Jim Ardis would be able to differentiate himself. I thought he would transcend personal ambition and be able to accomplish great things. I admit I am disappointed in his leadership skills.
If you want a great riverfront, great transit, great development, great schools, great parks, and great opportunities they have to be guided by vision and then fostered and measured. Peoria would be well served by paying attention to cities that have learned to do what is right and have had the conviction to resist compromise . More importantly we need the right people on the bus.
How can you blame the Mayor? Does he have any power in this idiotic/redundant city manager system we have?
George,
I agree.
Political and economic ‘gang warfare’ has always been a problem in this town. The list of mayors GEORGE rattled off is a ‘whose-who’ of conservative-Repubs in this city. They stick together like their lives depended upon it. When has the Peoria City Council or Mayor EVER promoted anything in the way of a camaraderie in this city? Now, the fun will continue with A. Schock and Co.
Kcdad,
The Mayor appoints the commissions, starts conversations, and brings people together. He has the ear of the city council members, manages the meetings, sets the tone, and establishes priorities. The Mayor has significantly more access to city staff.
You may hear Peoria Mayors say: “I am/was just one of eleven votes” yet, when public meetings are over the Mayor controls who is in the discussion and who is out.
Much can happen in the background; therefore, it would be better for Peoria if we had someone with more respect for how every decision and action contributes to the total well being of our city.
The city manager could be an effective leader; however, in Peoria, the city managers appear more concerned about watching their backside and brown nosing the loudest council members ( not necessarily the best council members) than providing leadership.
This is why CJ’s post about the LDC is important. Many people haven’t considered how in the aggregate these decisions have a major impact on our city’s future.
George,
You make some good points that I agree with. I think what you described about politicans not being forward-looking and more interested in amassing political power is something that is unfortunately endemic to Illinois, not just Peoria.
I’ve lived in Illinois almost all of my life and I’ve seen the same thing in every part of the state I’ve lived in. This state is too politically-charged and its leaders are generally more interested in playing political games and rewarding cronies than actually moving the state forward. This attitude seems to percolate down from state government to virtually every level of local government. It’s extremely unfortunate that this is the case, but until there’s an unmistakable outcry from the electorate things won’t change.
Storm 72
Thank you and I agree with you too, especially about the unmistakable outcry, and that is why forums such as these are good. As people get the information they will start to feel more empowered to take action. We just have to keep the conversation going and the pressure on.
George,
What about me!?! I agreed with you as well!
Ooops sorry, please accept my belated thank you.