In 2013 the Levee District officially opened in downtown East Peoria, giving the community access to shops and restaurants such as Target, Costco, and Red Robin. The districts addition further establishes that over the past fifteen years the city has been slowly turning into a major powerhouse in shopping and restaurants.

The Strength of the Growing Levee District

By Jon Haeffele

            In the early 2000’s a Super Wal-Mart opened up along the East Peoria riverfront. At the time, the Wal-Mart was one of the only businesses in the area, especially a major business of that size. As years past, more was built. An Office Max and Lowes were built nearby, along with a Buffalo Wild Wings, Chili’s, and other restaurants, both chain and locally owned. 2011 brought big news to the area, the hunting and fishing major superstore, Bass Pro Shops, will be opening up a store right next to the Super Wal-Mart. Bass Pro Shops opened its doors in the summer of 2011 to massive success.

The city of East Peoria, Illinois has been growing from a small suburb of Peoria, which sits right across the Illinois River, into a major economic powerhouse of its own. The addition of the Levee District, a new shopping center located near downtown, is an even clearer indicator of that. The Levee District contains big box retailers such as Target, a brand new state of the art library, and restaurants such as Red Robin and Chipotle. The new shopping center has offered local citizens the convenient access of businesses that were once only available across the river, now located right outside their back door. Also, businesses such as Costco, once having the closest location hours away are now available to residents in the Central Illinois region.

While the Levee District may be turning into a shopping-mecha, the land it sits on did not always sit that way. The land once belonged to Caterpillar, and was home to the vary buildings which manufactured the popular tractors and other machinery. It was 1910 when Caterpillar took control of the property, which was an ideal location as it was close to the downtown Peoria offices and also near the railway, which runs through downtown East Peoria. Unfortunately, the building became too out of date and was razed in 1998, leaving a barren desert, which consisted of concrete instead of sand and seemed to stretch to the edge of the Earth. East Peoria had considered buying the property until the early 2000’s but would focus on building around the area, adding a Buffalo Wild Wings and Bass Pro Shops among other establishments along the riverfront. It would not be until 2012 when construction would begin on the lot and March of 2013 when the Levee District would be officially open for business.

“I think East Peoria needed an area like the Levee District,” 30 year old long time East Peoria citizen Scott Roth said. “It gives us something close by to shop at and cuts down our trips to Peoria.”

And the Levee District is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, since the ribbon cutting ceremony in 2013 the district had continued to expand. Now, construction is finishing up on an Aspen Dental and Moe’s Southwestern Restaurant along with construction just starting on a new city hall location.

“(The Levee District) will continue to add value to E.P.” Scott said with confidence, following by stating that he and his family shops there weekly.

The fact that the Levee District has had a positive impact on East Peoria is certain, and it will be interesting to see how the developments will continue into the future.
The Levee District Locations. 

The Levee District consists of a large portion of East Peoria, near downtown, and contains a multitude of shops and restaurants. The map below showcases the size of the district and the location of restaurants and shops in the area. Click here to see the map.

The Road to the Levee District

Construction started in 2011 and the main buildings were finished in late 2012-2013.  The timeline below shows some of the key points in the history of the Levee District from the beginning of construction to present day. Click here to see a brief timeline of events leading to the Levee District today.