That appears to be a bunch of news from the PJS in this morning’s newspaper. There’s a gaggle of stories in there today about the buildings and the desire to develop. They even cite what has been done in other towns as evidence that Peoria can make it work. Sounds great, but I think the developers and the city are missing the point which is most of the people in this town don’t want warehouse development or if they do, it’s for “someone else.” I am all in favor of it. Those buildings are amazing but I just fear that until there’s a reason to move downtown, no one will. There’s little in the way of shopping or anything really to do after 5 p.m. Yes, I know our museum is on the way, and it’s going to rock when it gets here, but by putting our all eggs in one basket, I wonder if we have hurt development in the long run. Look at inPlay. Yes, there were other issues there but it could have died, in part, to the lack of other things to support the facility. Look at the various restaurants that haven’t made it.
The area needs an identity, I think, to help it along. The other cities cited in the above story all refer larger cities that made their warehouse districts into an artsy type of a commune or neighborhood, for lack of a better term. Maybe that would work here. Maybe not, but I don’t hear that in any of the news about the area. Also, I don’t hear anything about the planned uses of the buildings, just that developers are itching to get in there. Will there entertainment venues? Restaurants, art galleries? What are they hoping to do, just build lofts? I have an idea. If you do lofts, include parking as part of the fee, rent or sales price. Nothing sucks more in a small town than having to pay to live and then pay to park. This isn’t Chicago. But we’ll see. Exciting times for sure. Look at the bright side, no matter what happens, at least they are trying.
2 Comments
March 25, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I’d be weary of any program like this in Peoria. My perception, as an outsider, is that Peoria doesn’t have much going on downtown. Sure, the riverfront has some events in the summer, but aside from that, nothing much. I agree with this blogger. In order for downtown living to be desirable, a downtown culture must already exist.
I currently live in Champaign-Urbana. There is a good downtown culture here. Local bars, restaurants and coffee shops are doing well all year long. A lot of young 20-somethings have chosen to downtown or nearby because downtown offers a community that is desirable. Rental properties do well downtown, and the housing market is pretty good. In fact, it’s gotten so good that my wife and I could not afford to purchase a home there last summer.
Prior to the downtown revitalization that started here about a decade ago, the housing market was bad and a lot of homes/buildings were falling apart. A cultural revitalization has lead to improvement. People don’t want to live near a museum or a civic center. Those don’t build community.
There has been a lot of controversy recently surrounding the downtown revitalization efforts in Bloomington. A lot of tax payer dollars have been misspent. You can read about some of that here: http://www.mcleancountypundit.com/category/ensenberger-building/
March 26, 2008 at 12:10 am
It’ll happen in Peoria, I think. The question is when and how long it will take. I don’t know if residents of the region have the patience to hang in there. It took St. Louis 20 years to get the Loop to where it wanted it to be. Washington Avenue is only 10 years old.
The area needs an edge or a reason or something. If I can live 10 minutes away, not pay for parking, have a yard and not hear trucks, why would I live downtown?