By: Chase Coffey
Urban planning can go one of two ways. Popular with today’s modern cities like Phoenix or Atlanta is the idea of building out. These large cities continue to spread thin, away from downtown and in their wake, leaving empty buildings of past factories. In East Peoria, much the same began to unfold around the new millennium. Caterpillar left 86 acres of slated concrete and barren brown-land after removing and relocating several of their oldest manufacturing plants.
The City of East Peoria chose another plan to develop an urban core. In 2000 they purchased the left over land and began their redevelopment project. Their first project was Walmart. The Walmart in East Peoria, just in front of the river, went up in place of an old Caterpillar electric plant. Following, Embassy Suites, Bass Pro, Texas Roadhouse and a plethora of food options begin settling into their new home. Phase one was nearing completion.
“Phase one was to fix the front door,” said Ty Livingston, East Peoria city planner. “We invited a company in from Wisconsin to take a look at the land and give us a rough sketch for a redevelopment plan. The only thing we kept from that plan was to fix the front door.”
The front door from Peoria was a land of broken concrete and empty riverfront. Thus the start of redevelopment began with Bass Pro, Walmart and the Embassy Suites hotel. Soon following was the start of phase two; The Levee district.
“Our first plan for the old Levee District was tech firms,” said Livingston. “We had zero vision that it would take off in the retail realm like it did. But soon into development we realized we didn’t have the tech firms to bring in like we thought we would.”
As the economy began to plummet in 2007 and 2008, city planners thought the worst for their redevelopment. It was going to stall.
“We didn’t think it would take off,” Said Livingston. “But turns out we were the only ones offering to build buildings for business during that time. Companies wanted to come here.”
Companies like Costco Wholesale, Target, Holiday Inn, and other fast food sandwich shops began to sprout up along W. Washington Street. By 2012 the Levee District was a full scale redevelopment project that had grown into a cluster of commercial goods. It was a total success for the city.
“Today we have everything you need as someone who lives in East Peoria,” said Livingston. “If you wanted to get groceries ten years ago, you drove across the river and got them in Peoria. If you wanted to dine out, you did the same thing. Now we have a sense of pride in our community. We have our own shops and don’t have to rely on crossing the river.”
While the Levee District is in full swing, several areas are still in the works for fixing up. The original plans were to attract several ‘mom and pop’ or local shops. Instead they ended up with thirty or more mega chains. There was supposed to be outdoor seating for restaurants along Washington St. and it was supposed to be accessible to walk from place to place or ride a bike to the district. The East Peoria public dropped over $80 million in funding for the levee district which was supposed to entice local shopping and a sense of community. Instead nearly $100 million dollars in private investors from large corporations was spent to redevelop the land into mile long parking lots.
The city did however manage to save two small spaces of land which could help reroute the area into community. It may be a little to late.
“The city still owns a median in the Target parking lot,” said Livingston. “We will host the farmers market, community events in the space. It’s designed for walking from place to place.”
The second space is their only major hope to accomplish their original goal. On the corner of Richland Street and Washington Street, the new Fondulac District Library sits behind a 2 acre green space. This space is yet to be disturbed by commercial conquest. The city has already filed for a regional economical green space grant which is given to cities in order to “improve quality of life,” for it’s citizens.
A new mapping of the area includes an outdoor theater, several picnic benches and outdoor seating for lunch time or nightlife. The area would include a large water fountain and covering for concerts or other civic events. This would be phase three and the final phase.
With urban planning one major goal is to densify areas of development. While the original plans wanted to have smaller stores with lots of walking and biking access, the finish product produced large chain stores with mega parking lots that are to large to conquer on foot. The major issue is a lack of residential area. Without a living area within the new Levee District, it will always become a destination to park, shop, and drive away. This is not a model for sustainability.
“Within a calender year, we are looking for residential development in the area,” said Livingston. “We are just waiting for the first investor to stick his head out.”
Residential development and downsizing parking spaces would turn the already successful Levee district into a successful model for redeveloping cities across the nation. The commercial and economic side of the Levee district has been established but in order for it to sustain life the city must continue to push for residents, parks, and nightlife activities.
“We need a few nice restaurants, sit down areas, residential life and outdoor events during the summer to keep people there past sunset,” said Livingston. “We would love a mom and pop grocery store, dedicated park spaces and large apartments for young professionals.”
What went wrong with the Levee District
Click here to listen and look at the Levee District. Coming at it from an urban planning perspective, see what went wrong in the last 15 years of development. What changed from the original plans to what ended up being a shopping center.