PEORIA — A controversial long-term supportive housing project that faced opposition from neighbors in South Peoria will move forward after receiving strong support from the Peoria City Council.
The council voted 8-2 on Tuesday night to approve the proposed 48-unit housing project at 2702 W. Krause Ave. that would serve primarily families experiencing homelessness in Peoria.
Phoenix Community Development Services is undertaking the $29 million project that, in conjunction with OSF HealthCare, will also bring a clinic to South Peoria. The land was the former site of Harrison School, which closed in 2010 and was demolished in 2023.
Last week the project faced heavy criticism from community members at a Peoria Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, but on Tuesday night, the plan received little such criticism from a City Council where most members were happy to see the development come to South Peoria.
“Not only do I have family, including my mother and my daughter who live in the 61605 area, not very far from here, I have friends and constituents who have reached out and while there are some people that are opposed to it, there are many who are excited to see the redevelopment, to see the revitalization, to see life come back to 61605,” at-large councilmember Bernice Gordon-Young said.
Only councilmembers Denise Jackson, who represents South Peoria, and at-large councilmember John Kelly opposed the development.
Jackson has long been a vocal opponent of the plan, speaking at length about her opposition multiple times in public, including at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
On Tuesday night Jackson reiterated points she has made in the past about the project and asked for a deferral of a vote so the community and council could get a “formal” presentation about the project from both Phoenix and OSF.
“I think in order to do something like this any justice, I think it would only be appropriate to have a formal presentation by Phoenix and OSF, especially in light of the fact OSF has never been in the 61605 in this capacity,” Jackson said.
Mayor Rita Ali, on the other hand, has been a strong supporter of the project and said Tuesday night she had hoped to celebrate the proposal together with Jackson, who she is typically aligned with on most issues.
Ali, who grew up in South Peoria, said people have been moving “rapidly” out of that area over the years and before the city could see more commercial development there, they needed to return residents back.
“I think that it is a great start in repopulating this area of our city,” Ali said. “We have to repopulate this area in order to sustain grocery stores, retail stores, pharmacies, we have to have the population which means housing comes first. Housing first, to get people there. We need more density in that area.”
In response to the concerns raised by the community over this project, Peoria’s Community Development Director Joe Dulin laid out why the city was behind the project.
Dulin said, in contrast to arguments made by Jackson in the past, that this project did fit into the overall revitalization plan for the 61605-ZIP code. He highlighted millions of dollars in other redevelopment efforts that have occurred there, including work on MacArthur Highway, Habitat for Humanity projects near the old McKinley School, the Churchview Gardens housing project and sidewalk revitalizations.
Dulin, too, answered one of the most often-asked questions by the community, explaining why the property on Krause Avenue was chosen and why a previous location picked for this project in Downtown Peoria had to be pivoted away from.
The Illinois Housing Development Authority required that wherever the project be built needed to be on a bus route, near a school and near parks, Dulin said. Fitting the requirements of the state was crucial because roughly 40% of the project’s funding is state money.
An original plan for the project called for it to be built in the old Methodist College building on St. Marks Court in Downtown Peoria, but Dulin said the project’s financiers would not approve that site, forcing Phoenix to pivot.
Phoenix’s project will specifically target families, not individuals, experiencing homelessness, another plus in the eyes of the city for this location, Dulin said.
“The project is specifically targeting families experiencing homelessness, and I only mention that because I think part of the narrative that’s been out in the public is about the population that this apartment complex will be targeting and it really just is an affordable housing complex,” Dulin said. “The population that it’s targeting are only homeless because there are not housing units available for them to live in. Once they become housed, they are no longer homeless.”
The inclusion of an OSF clinic was another key point of favor in the city’s eyes, Dulin said.
While it is not entirely settled yet what services the clinic will provide, OSF’s Vice President of Economic Development Ryan Spain said it will be similar to the OSF OnCall locations seen around the city.
Spain said OSF is “thrilled” to be partnering with Phoenix and to be an “anchor tenant” at the site.
“We are eagerly looking forward, if the project moves forward, how we can engage with the community and develop the right care model for this site,” Spain said.
Spain is a former city councilmember who now serves in the Illinois House of Representatives.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Controversial South Peoria housing project approved with strong support
Reporting by JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
