Sites I Follow

Development overlooking 1.5 Mile Wide River

The areal photo above shows the proposed River Trail Drive development overlooking the Illinois River. The River is about 1.5 miles wide, providing a beautiful Vista.

The article below is about the development.


The City is looking for a quality developer. See more information at:

Looking for a Quality Developer

The City is looking for a quality development company to develop the River Trail Drive. This would be a great project for the proposed Heart of Peoria Development Corporation.
More info at:
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Enterprise Zone

The Enterprise Zone is one of Peoria's most successful Economic Development tools. It provides a variety of incentives to encourage redevelopment of the older parts of the city.

The City gives back the sales tax on building material to the developer. The developer gets the total sales tax of all purchases made in Illinois, which is about 8% of the cost of the material. The cities portion of this is at most 2.5% of material, but usually less, since some items will likely be purchased outside of the City.

For this one time incentive, the city gets increased improved urban vitality, jobs, and increases in sales, utility, and property taxes. The other taxing bodies also benefit.

The spread sheet below illustrates the impact of a 5,000 square foot expansion of a retail center.


Click below for more information on the Enterprise Zone

Green Economic Development

Seeing the Green: Bolstering Economic Development Strategies with Environmental

Responsibility July 17, 2008 2:30 p.m. EDT via Webcast

The American Planning Association and the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) 30-minute broadcast will focus on the role of environmental sustainability and its impact on economic development. Green jobs, innovation, economic growth are all additional benefits to the environmental impacts that going green presents.

Tune in tomorrow to hear some real-world strategies for all those involved in planning and the economic development community. Please register at: http://edabroadcast.haverstick.biz/

Hosted By: Benjamin ErulkarU.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development

Panelists Include:W. Paul Farmer, FAICP Executive Director and CEO, American Planning Association Tom DardenPresident, Cherokee Investment Partners
Ted WysockiPresident and CEO, Local Economic & Employment Development (LEED) Council (Chicago)

Nancy McKeeverI-PLACE3S/Sustainable Energy Program Manager, California Energy CommissionTo learn more about the partnership between APA and EDA, please visit:
http://www.planning.org/eda/

Thank you.

Richard Lukas
Senior Outreach Associate
American Planning Association
1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW - Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036
Direct Dial: 202.349.1010Fax: 202.872.0643
rlukas@planning.orgwww.planning.org

Welcome to Jennifer Daly

The Peoria Economic Development Community welcomes Jennifer Daly, the new Executive Director and CEO of the Morton Economic Development Commissioon. She comes to us from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and is a dynamic addition to our community. Read about her on the article below.

http://www.pjstar.com/neightbors/x1192319974/Morton-economic-council-hires-CEO

Big Build Up with River Trail Drive Plan Added


The Aerial Photo above shows the impressive amount of development in Peoria. Click on the map to make it larger. The River Trail Drive Concept Plan has been added to the lower right hand corner. The City is looking for a developer for this great mixed use development next to downtown and overlooking our beautiful lake. Call Craig Hullinger at 309 494 8639 or email at Hullingerc@gmail.com if you want to build this development. More information below.

Sterling Oaks Neighborhood Association

Check out the nice web site of the Sterling Oaks Neighborhood Association. This is a nice neighborhood in the City of Peoria.

RFP River Trail Drive


RIVER TRAIL DRIVE
REQUEST FOR DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS
July 9, 2008

The City of Peoria is seeking a quality developer to develop City owned RIVERFRONT property. The City Council, the Planning Commission, and the Heart of Peoria Commission have approved the River Trail Concept Plan.Preference is for new urban AND green development.

The City of Peoria seeks proposals from qualified developers for the development of the Peoria Riverfront north of downtown. The City owned property fronts a beautiful lake measuring approximately 2.5 miles by 1.5 miles, a lineal park, and a bike trail. The south end of the property is anchored by downtown Peoria, I-74, and the Riverplex. The north end is anchored by the Detweiller Marina.

Background: City staffs have developed concept plans for the Peoria Riverfront. Staff gave numerous community presentations and held several charettes to get community input. Presentations were made to the City Planning Commission and the Heart of Peoria Commission and they approved the plans for the River's Edge Redevelopment Initiative, the Green Edge Plan, the River Trail Drive Plan, and the Cascade River Plan. All of the plans were reviewed and approved by city engineering and planning staff.

The Concept Plans begins with City owned land, as shown on the attached concept plan sketch. There are approximately nine city owned acres available for development. There is a substantial amount of privately owned land that could be added to the development. The plan is similar to the famous "Burnham Plan" in Chicago, with a lake shore drive and quality housing to help pay for it.

There is a strong demand for housing in and near downtown Peoria. Several market studies have been conducted with the most recent being completed by Tracy Cross & Associates, Inc. The Tracy Cross Residential Market Analysis indicated that there would be a demand for 194 new dwelling units a year in downtown Peoria.

Downtown Peoria is the second most densely developed downtown in Illinois after Chicago, boasting over 17,000 jobs. Many of the young professionals employed downtown have indicated a desire to live close to downtown jobs, the river, and the convention center. Employment in Peoria continues to grow with new jobs being created by Caterpillar, OSF Medical Center and Methodist Medical Center.

More information is available on:

http://rivertraildrive.blogspot.com/

www.peoriaed.blogspot.com


Possible City Contributions

Depending upon the quality of submittals,
participation may include the following:


A favorable purchase price or transfer of real property at reduced cost

Enterprise Zone incentives

Possible Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Incentives


City’s Right to Reject Proposals

The City of Peoria reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received as a result of the Request for Proposals, or to negotiate in any manner necessary to serve the best interests of the City. If a minority and/or female owned small business is included, then a Business Plan for that small business must also be included.

Meeting / Inspection: City Staff invite interested parties to a presentation and a walk through of the site beginning at 1:30 pm at the One Stop Shop Planning Department offices on Mondy July 21, 2008. Developers may also arrange for a briefing at other times if desired. Submittals may be made until one is accepted and approved by the City Council.

Proposals or Questions should be sent to:

Bobby Gray bgray@ci.peoria.il.us

or

Craig Hullinger AICP Hullinger@gmail.com

Economic Development Department
City of Peoria 419 Fulton Street, Suite 403 Peoria, IL 61602
Phone (309) 494-8642, Fax (309) 494-8650




Sculpture Walk

Check out the Sculpture Walk Program in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

SculptureWalk is a great program of bringing outdoor sculptures that area displayed all year in their downtown. Artists put their sculptures in the program for one year, and all sculptures are presented to the public for sale. Artists can win awards.

The Sculpture Walk Team are volunteers. It is a great way to promote art, and to bring people to the central city.



There are a number of programs to help first time homebuyers afford homes in Peoria. Banks have information on most of these programs. They are summarized on the page below:




Many of these programs could help attract artists to our city.
For more information contact the Peoria Planning Department at:
456 Fulton Street, Suite 402
Peoria, Illinos 61602
309 494 8600