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Journal Star reporter JJ Bullock writes about local government, politics and business in and around Peoria.
The city of Peoria plans to bid on the Peoria Exposition Gardens property at a public auction.The City Council will vote on approving up to an additional $875,000 for the purchase, on top of a previously approved $1.1 million.Peoria intends to market the 70-acre property to a developer for a new residential neighborhood.
PEORIA — Peoria is creating a plan to spend up to another $875,000 for a purchase of Peoria Exposition Gardens ahead of the property’s public auction on Wednesday.
The Peoria City Council approved a plan in June to purchase Peoria Expo Gardens for $1.1 million, but the Expo Gardens Board never met to approve the sale and the property went into foreclosure instead, according to the council agenda. Peoria will now have to buy it at auction in order to secure the more than 70-acre property for what it hopes to see become a residential development.
In the event that the price for the property at auction goes beyond the originally approved $1.1 million purchase price, the council on Tuesday will vote to allow city staff to bid an additional $875,000 if necessary.
City councilmember Andre Allen, whose 4th District is home to the Expo Gardens, said he was fine with approving the extra costs if they are needed to acquire the property.
“We are going to an auction, and you just want to make sure you’ve got your best foot forward,” Allen said. “There is an intentional interest for a lot of different stakeholders in wanting to make sure the right development goes there, and so I am OK with ensuring that we go there within reason and obviously with having a responsibility to the taxpayers … but our citizens, they want to see the right development go there so I am OK with it.”
The city hopes to acquire the land and then market it to a real estate developer for the creation of a new neighborhood. Peoria hopes that 110 to 150 new homes could be built at Expo Gardens, which is the largest slate of undeveloped property within the boundaries of Peoria Public Schools.
Those new homes would generate an estimated $1.3 to $1.6 million in annual property tax revenue.
A $2 million state grant has been approved to help fund the purchase of the property, but the state grant money will not be immediately available for use. The city will instead loan itself money from its OPEB fund (other post-employment benefits), which is generally used as a future liability fund for employee health care claims.
The original $1.1 million approved for the purchase and the additional $875,000 approved for use at the auction will both come from the OPEB fund.
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