PEORIA, Ill. — The Downtown Development Corporation of Peoria (DDC) presented Tuesday night to the Peoria City Council as they continuously look for ways to redevelop downtown Peoria.
One of the concerns, according to DDC Chairman Jeff Kolbus, is that there won’t be enough parking as more space is redeveloped.
The main area of parking deficiency is seen in the Warehouse District, where many buildings could be repurposed into apartment spaces.
“There is a parking shortage in the key areas of where this is needed,” said Kolbus. “In some areas — where a lot of the redevelopment is happening — we need parking.”
A parking study was completed in 2017 with the City of Peoria and DDC hiring an independent professional, which showed the Warehouse District is “desperately in need of parking.”
Kolbus told the council he was hopeful that a resolution would come in front of them shortly to be able to continue development in the area.
According to DDC President and CEO Michael Freilinger, the parking shortage has worsened as more redevelopment has been done with more people coming to the area.
“Instead of housing two employees in a warehouse, you now have 126 units,” said Freilinger. “Each of those tall buildings is going to have at least 100 residential units.
“500 people living on one city block, where are they going to park? The parking was set up when you maybe had two employees working in a seven-story building as warehouse attendants.”
Freilinger specifically mentioned five buildings that are more than five-stories tall along Oak St. and SW Washington St. that would contain more than 100 residential units.
Kolbus said his vision for downtown Peoria is like Michigan Ave. in Chicago, with Peorians and visitors bringing excitement to the area.
