PEORIA, Ill. — Two of the largest undeveloped warehouses in Peoria’s Warehouse District are about to get a makeover.
The City Council on Tuesday night approved a $38 million development plan for buildings at 800 and 801 SW Washington Street.
At-Large Council Member Zach Oyler tells WMBD’s “The Greg and Dan Show”, this will be huge for the downtown Warehouse District area.
“And, that goes back to what we’ve been working on the last couple of years…acquiring the land in the Warehouse District. Because those buildings in their former lives were manufacturing.”
The vacant buildings will be turned into 176 residential units, but both warehouses will include commercial space as well.
City Manager Patrick Urich says the addition of these residential units would bring the total available downtown and in the Warehouse District to over 1,000.
Oculus Development will use historic tax credits and tax increment financing reimbursements to recoup development costs through 2043, totaling $10.4 million, with Oculus recouping $6.7 million and the city getting $3.7 million.
Construction is expected to begin in 2024, and be completed by March 2026.
A city-led parking project was also promised as part of the new development in the Warehouse District.
Oyler says Peoria plans on developing a parking structure at 905 and 907 SW Washington Street for residents of the new buildings.
In order to do that, two buildings nearby will be demolished.
“There’s no vehicle parking in that area. To be able to turn those into something useful, after they sat dormant for decades, now we finally have the opportunity to do that…we’ve got the land, and the parking will start, and now we’ve got developers that are actually buying the buildings,” Oyler says.
