Warehouse District gets an official kickoff
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- Published on Friday, 08 March 2013 15:56
- Written by Paul Gordon
For more than a decade city officials have talked about wanting to convert a section of downtown where old, dilapidated buildings stand into a warehouse district.
Slowly but surely it has been happening, largely due to the efforts of businessmen like Pat Sullivan and developers like Kert Huber. But it took investment by the city, state and federal governments to get the efforts kicked into higher gear and on Friday, it went into overdrive.
A symbolic, dignitary-laden groundbreaking ceremony — actually, the tossing of dirt with shovels — marked the official start of the street improvement projects to enhance public safety and provide amenities along Washington Street. That is the work, officials say, that will lead to further economic development in the area.
"It's great to see this finally happening. This is a good day," said Sullivan, owner of Kelleher's restaurant and several buildings within the Warehouse District that he and his business partners have already rehabilitated. That includes the buildings housing Kelleher's and The Waterhouse, each with condos and offices on upper floors.
Sullivan has been pushing for development of the Warehouse District probably longer than anybody. "It did take a while but I was always confident we'd get there. This will be fun to watch," he said.
"This is the kind of project that is good use of taxpayers' money," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, the Peoria native home for the weekend and a participant in the groundbreaking ceremony at Washington and Harrison streets. LaHood was instrumental in Peoria getting a $10 million TIGER II federal grant that will be put with state and local money to do the infrastructure work in the Warehouse District and propel future development.
"This project means people will work, will have jobs and the Warehouse District then becomes an economic corridor by taking old warehouse buildings and turning them into economic opportunities," LaHood said.
Transportation Secretary in the cabinet of President Barack Obama, LaHood noted that the $48 million his department received when Obama signed economic recovery legislation shortly into his first term in the White House have so far spurred 15,000 infrastructure projects that have created 65,000 jobs.
State Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, talked about the $11 million state infrastructure grant he and State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, helped secure for the Warehouse District work. He said he will again work to get historical tax credits for development of the old buildings within the district as work continues.
"This is a good project that really shows what can be done when units of government work together," Koehler said. "One thing that binds us in a non-partisan way is the need for infrastructure improvements."
Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis, who served as master of the ceremonies, said getting the work started in earnest on the Warehouse District "has been a long time coming." He noted the district has been high on the list of City Hall topics since 2002 because of its prime location and because of the opportunity to reuse buildings that remain structurally sound.
Some of the work done to date that will help with the development, he said, includes adopting zoning ordinances that are flexible so developers can better maintain the look of the buildings while rehabilitating them.
To date there has been nearly $32 million in investments committed to the Warehouse District, Ardis said. Now, he added, private developers will begin to see the public sector investment and commitment and will begin moving forward with their own plans.
Peoria City Councilman Ryan Spain, who has spearheaded much of the work on the Warehouse District, said the economic impact of developing the district "will be extensive."
The reason, he added, is because businesses and organizations in Peoria are actively recruiting young professionals and studies have shown those are the residents that would be most attracted to a Warehouse District style of living; in other words, loft-style apartments in the heart of the city's business and entertainment district.
"Studies have shown that the young professional prefer to live in a downtown, mixed-use environment. We believe we can have thousands of residents in the Warehouse District," Spain said. "We have a great story here that we need to get out. It's time to get to work rebuilding downtown Peoria."
A surprising guest speaker was former Peoria Mayor Richard Carver, who now lives in Virginia but still has family and business interests in Peoria. "This is a community you can be proud of. No matter where you go in the country you are proud to say you are from Peoria," he said.
The project that kicked off on Friday will take a couple years to complete and will include restructuring Washington Street, which will be the main thoroughfare of the Warehouse District. A part of Washington Street will be closed for several months while work is done.
CAPTION: (Photo by Paul Gordon) U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, third from left, led a group of dignitaries in pitching dirt as part of a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony on Friday that marked the start of work on the city;s Warehouse District.
