PEORIA, Ill. — Many of the apartments at Peoria’s Taft Homes have been boarded up for months. Now, renovations of the public housing complex are set to begin soon at a cost of $47.3 million.
At a meeting on Wednesday, Peoria Housing Authority Chairman Carol Cannon said current Taft Homes residents will have first priority on 142 new units that are being built.
Peoria Housing Authority Chairman Carl Cannon told WMBD’s “The Greg and Dan Show” on Thursday that the work will be done in three phases, and residents for the most part will not be required to leave their homes during construction.
“Phase one, they’ll take out those boarded up units, do demolition on those, and do reconstruction where they did the demolition,” Cannon said.
As renovations are completed, Taft Home residents will be moved into the new construction.
Peoria Housing Authority is partnering with Bear Development, LLC, which is fronting the initial cost of the project.
The Taft Homes complex will have a whole new look once it’s finished, according to Cannon.
“You’re going to see town homes, ranch houses and green space surround separate entrances for every resident.”
Cannon said a campaign to rename Taft Homes is also in the works.
The project is slated to be completed by the summer of 2023.
