Developers have downsized the project to be constructed on the former Save a Lot grocery block, 4425 N. Prospect Road, going from three to two stories.
While the mixed-use building will move forward, the decision prompted debate around the Village Board table as to whether it constituted a “material change” that should require starting over with the approval process including a return to the Zoning Board.
Trustee Nate Steinwedel raised the issue at the Board’s May 19 meeting and said the building’s height was a significant factor for the Board in approving an amended site plan back in February. Steinwedel was the lone dissenter in that 5-1 vote, arguing that the placement of the building on the lot didn’t fit with the more “walkable” aspects of the rest of the Village’s downtown, but this latest evolution goes beyond that, affecting the scale of the project and its economic impact, he said.
As such it rises “above a minor adjustment,” said Steinwedel. “This is not merely an architectural tweak.
“The concern is the process.”
“We were showed a three-story building, and we’re now being asked to accept a two-story building … Whether or not that change ultimately violates our code, I feel is a matter of interpretation, but there is no question it materially changes the project that was presented to the public and approved by this Board,” added Trustee Sarah DeVore.
“The project that was presented to us at that time is not the same project being discussed today. Had the current, two-story design been proposed originally … I cannot say with confidence my vote would be the same.”
Nonetheless, Village Attorney Mark Walton advised the Board that its zoning code contains no definition of what constitutes a “material change” that would trigger a return for review and reapproval. While the Village could address that issue with the zoning code update currently underway, there is a balance between creating a simpler process for developers with fewer hoops to jump through and a more complicated code that protects the Village to the fullest extent, he said. In addition, the Village has little staff to implement its zoning regulations, unlike the City of Peoria, which has a large department, said Walton.
That was the tack taken by Mayor Matt Wigginton, who had earlier argued that the Village should want to retain its reputation as being business-friendly. Meanwhile, the footprint of the building is not changing and its placement on the property remains the same, he said in defending the developer.
Meanwhile, the timing is problematic, as the development including demolition of the previous building and removal of the debris is well underway.
Nonetheless, “our code needs future improvement so future boards are not placed in the same position,” said DeVore, who urged her colleagues not to let the topic fall by the wayside.
“I am development friendly and I want to see investment continue in Peoria Heights. However, our responsibility is not to developers but to the residents who have elected me and us, to ensure the process we established is fair, transparent, and consistently followed. Supporting development and protecting the interests of our residents should not be mutually exclusive goals.”
While trustees also expressed some frustration with a lack of timely information about the change, they agreed that the fault was not with the developer and that it wasn’t worth spending taxpayer dollars on potential future litigation.
Ultimately, they voted 5-0 – with Trustee Brandon Wisenburg absent – to approve a tax increment financing (TIF) agreement with the developers that has the Village reimbursing the latter for up to $2.5 million in TIF-eligible expenses for the $12.5 million project, which includes ground floor commercial/retail and second floor office space. The developers have a long-term lease for the second floor, reportedly for the accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen, which is relocating from downtown Peoria. The latter will bring some 80 full-time jobs in-house, said Cole McDaniel, the economic development consultant working with the developers.
Meanwhile, the agreement also contains incentives for the developer to fill at least part of the space with sales tax-producing businesses. If the project does $2 million in retail sales annually, the developers will receive reimbursement of 100 percent of their property tax increment. If it’s between $1 million and $2 million, they’ll get 80 percent, and if below $1 million, 60 percent. Ultimately, property taxes from that block will nearly quintuple, said McDaniel, with the school district and all other taxing bodies benefiting.
In addition, the development will create 15 on-street parking spaces that do not exist now in the Village. Space also will be made available for planting of mature trees on the property.
Construction could take up to 24 months.
At the end of the day, this project is “a win for the Village,” said Trustee Elizabeth Khazzam.