3/29/2008

Artist Relocation Program

City staff are working with the arts community to develop an artist relocation program, intended to bring more artists to our city.

If you would like to help please send and email to hullingerc@gmail.com

Hospitality Improvement Zone (HIZ)

City Staff are making presentations on the proposed
Hospitality Improvement Zone (HIZ)

Contact us and we will be glad to tell you all about it:

CraigHullinger@gmail.com 309 494 8639

Presentations Made to date as of April 2, 2008

City Council

Downtown Hotel Owners

Downtown Property Owners

Sanitary District

Peoria County

Peoria Township

Detweiller Trust

Heart of Peoria Commission

PACVB

PCC

Library

Various citizens and developers

City staff

_________________________________________________

Requested Permission to Make Presentation to / Date Scheduled


Mass Transit District / April 14, 2008

Chamber of Commerce / June 5, 2008

ICC / TBD

Planning Commission / TBD

Economic Development Stakeholders / TBD

EDC / TBD

District 150 / TBD - Will schedule after agreement on previous TIF's is complete

Park District / No presentation wanted, letter was enough

Any other group - please call / TBD


More Info on http://www.peoriaed.blogspot.com/

under Hospitality Improvement Zone

3/25/2008

The map below shows the year 2000 population and estimated 2007 median household income for the area within 10 miles of downtown Peoria. The population within the 30 mile radius is 387, 773, while the estimated 2007 median income is 49,616. Source - US Census and Claritas.




City Council Economic Development Agenda Items

Tuesday March 25, 2008 6:15 pm - All items were approved by unanimous vote

1. Creation of a new facade improvement program for the area between the Warehouse and Eagle View
TIF along Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. The program would provide assistance for businesses to improve their facade, with a 50/50 city match of private investment up to a maximum of $20,000 for the City.

2. Approval of a facade improvement grant to
USF of $20,000 as a match for a USF investment of $120,000 in facade improvements.

3. Reservation of $9,614,095 of City Bond Cap to support future city programs. Reservation of the cap retains the use of these funds for City economic development programs such as Industrial Revenue Bonds to support industrial expansion, or to reduce mortgage rates for first time
home buyers in the city.

4. Entering into a
TIF Agreement in the Eagle View TIF with Westmont Interior Supply House, providing the company with a TIF incentive equal to 50% of the new additional property tax to be paid on the additional assessed valuation of the property. This is the 7th TIF agreement to be approved in the two new TIF Districts.

Hallmark Celebratory Lunch and Screening


3/23/2008

Peoria Continues to Grow


The City recently conducted a special census, showing that the City has grown by a total of 8,455 people since the 2000 Census.

More information on the link below:

3/22/2008

Workforce Development

Careers 2008 Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm
Location: Northwoods Mall

More info on the Workforce Development Blog at:

http://peoriaworkforce.blogspot.com/



3/20/2008

Alumni Housing

The web page below describes a very nice alumni housing development for MIT and Harvard. A development like this would be great for Peoria and Bradley University.

http://303third.net/

The link below describes the program of a company that specializes in University Alumni Housing.

Aging baby boomers will soon want one story homes. And many of them will want the vitality of city living without the cost of a large and expensive metro area. And some of them will fondly remember their old University.

Retirement homes in conjunction with Universities have become increasingly common. The housing can be privately developed, with alumni and retired faculty targeted as purchasers. A number of programs have been developed where private developers work with Universities to market retirement communities to alumni. The involvement of the University can be minimal, but usually involves letting their alumni know about the proposed development and conducting a survey to find out what type of homes they prefer.

The alumni bring a love of the University, a pool of supporter / volunteers / students, and the potential for donations and bequests. They can also afford a nice home, selling their single family home in a more expensive housing market, and moving to Peoria. From the City perspective a program to bring retired alumni back brings in affluent citizens with retirement nest eggs. They spend money, don't need jobs, and contribute to the city. They would help to rebuild several of our neighborhoods that need redevelopment.

In marketing Peoria to national developers, we encountered a number of Bradley alums and one who dated a Bradley student. They all were interested in how the University and City were doing. Bradley Alumni Developers would be obvious candidates for recruitment for the development of one or more retirement communities. There are also a number of firms that specialize in this type of housing. I have listed a few of the web pages below: You will notice that Campus Continuum continuously conducts a nice web based questionnaire aimed at alumni retirees - a pretty effective and low cost way to see if there is interest in retiring back to the campus, and a low cost way to help figure out the type of housing desired.


WEB PAGES

http://www.meadowoodrc.com/iuconnection.html

http://www.walshconstructionco.com/adobe/URCAD.pdf

http://www.offcampus.housing.umich.edu/files/nyt_retirement_article.pdf

"Baby Boomers, Back to Campus," University Business Magazine, 2/08, http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx? articleid=1004

"Retirees Heading Back to College," Tampa Bay Online, 2/1/08, http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/feb/01/ho-home- u/

"Retirees Attracted by the College Lifestyle," The Washington Times, 10/5/07, http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article ? AID=/20071005/HOME/110050020/1019



3/18/2008

Good article on building "Green" in InterBusiness Magazine by Don Forrest of Farnsworth Engineering. Read it at:

http://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/2007/jul/green-building-makes-dollars-and-sense


Farnsworth is assisting the city in promoting Sustainable Development in Peoria. Read about it at:




3/17/2008

Population and Employment within 10 Mile Radius

Center Point of 10 mile circles

Blue Circle I-74 and Washington (Downtown)
Green Circle I-474 and Washington
Red Circle Route 6 and War Memorial Drive (Grand Prairie)

3/13/2008

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Success

Click on the line below to see the success of TIF in Peoria.

TIF SPREADSHEET

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pSt1ivzaCLuN4WFfX60coQw

TIF Districts spur revitalization of older neighborhoods, increasing tax base and jobs. Successful projects include:

Caterpillar
CBT
CityScape Apartments
Cranes & Equipment
Drumheller Bag
First Capital Bank
HCH Administration
IL Assn. of Neurosurgery
InPlay
Kirby Risk
O’Brien Stadium
O’Brien Steel
Orthopedic Institute
Plattner Orthopedic
PMP
Renal Care Center
Spring Grove Residential
Staybridge Suites
Superior Consolidated
Technicraft
U. of I. College of Medicine
Valley Park Shopping Cntr.
Valeska Hinton School
Westmont Supply
WW Grainger
401Water Street

More info on TIF at

http://peoriatif.blogspot.com/


______________________________

Hospitality Improvement Zone

(HIZ) TIF


The cities of Tinley Park, East Peoria, and Normal have developed high quality conference centers and hotels which draw business from Peoria. Springfield’s attractiveness has been greatly enhanced by the Lincoln Museum. These improved competitors all received substantial assistance from government, and will draw business from downtown Peoria.

Our downtown hotels and other hospitality industry business struggle to compete with these quality new developments. The City can choose to compete or not to compete. The proposed Hospitality Improvement Zone would assist existing and new businesses invest, improve, and expand.

City Council has directed staff to present the potential HIZ TIF to our sister governments, and request their input and direction. We also ask our citizens to send us their recommendations. Thank you for your consideration. We appreciate your viewpoint.


Send comments or questions to Craighullinger@gmail.com


309 643 0482

More info at

http://peoriatif.blogspot.com/

http://hospitalityimprovementzone.blogspot.com/

3/12/2008

Turner Center for Entrepreneurship

The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship is a not-for-profit program located at Bradley University. The centers which make up the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship provide business counseling, technical assistance, training, and educational activities for individuals interested in owning their own businesses. We also help existing entrepreneurs and businesses who want to expand or take advantageof new opportunities and technologies, are interested in marketing their products and services interationally, or are seeking to commercialize new products and technologies.

More info at http://www.bradley.edu/turnercenter/

PeoriaMagazines.com

Based in Peoria, Illinois, Central Illinois Business Publishers is the foremost business, social and arts resource in the region. On this site, you will find information about our four publications: InterBusiness Issues, The Peoria Woman, art & society and Peoria Progress magazines. Whatever your interest, you’re sure to find it covered on PeoriaMagazines.com.

Caterpillar Inc. is unveiling the first innovative AC electric drive track-type tractor in the industry. The revolutionary electric drive system developed for track-type tractors gives the D7E an unmatched balance of power, efficiency, control and maneuverability. The new product demonstrates Caterpillar's commitment to the industry with a machine that does more work and consumes less fuel and parts while providing lower operating costs.

NEXT Steps

NEXTsteps was designed to provide

a forum for informal networking and

information sharing between innovators,

entrepreneurs, investors, and others

interested in nurturing entrepreneurship

in the Midwest. Typically, NEXTsteps

features the presentation of three or

more technology companies or

technology concepts ready to be taken

to the next level.

Date: March 18th, 2008
Time: 9:00 - 11:00 am (refreshments provided)
Location: Peoria NEXT Innovation Center
801 W Main
Peoria, Illinois

Additional details and directions to the event can be found at:

www.peorianext.org/goto/nextsteps


Peoria NEXT
801 W. Main
Peoria, IL 61606
phone (309) 676-6398
fax (309) 676-7534

3/10/2008

Population and Income

The data below compare three major intersections in Peoria. At the 10 and 30 mile radius point, downtown has the highest population and income. There is little difference among the 3 locations at the 30 mile radius point, which picks up most of the metropolitan population.

2000 Census Population Radius 10 Miles / 30 Miles

I-74 & Washington (Downtown) 254,725 / 387,773
I-474 and Adams (Southern Gateway 236,871 / 386,576
Rt 6 & War Memorial (Grand Prairie) 178,143 / 387,657

__________________________________________

2007 Estimated Median
Household Income Radius 10 Miles / 30 Miles

I-74 & Washington (Downtown) 47,489 / 49,616
I-474 and Adams (Southern Gateway 45, 353 / 49,388
Rt 6 & War Memorial (Grand Prairie) 45,987 / 49,591


Source US Census, Claritas.

3/07/2008

Enterprise Zone

There are nearly 100 Enterprise Zones in Illinois. These zones help to incent development. Certain types of development can get a 5 year property tax abatement and pay no sales tax on building material. Information on Enterprise Zones can be found at:

http://www.ieza.org/

http://peoriaenterprisezone.blogspot.com/

Business Showcase on Tuesday April 1, 2008

The 2008 Business Showcase, held in Peoria at the Peoria Civic Center, will take place Tuesday, April 1st.

This event is quickly growing into one of the region’s largest business networking event, and you will want to be there. This event showcases some of the Peoria area’s most dynamic businesses, together at one event. Feel free to explore the latest in technology, services, and products that could empower your business. Discover the revenue possibilities, make connections with area professionals, and increase your company’s productivity. If you may be interested in participating in the 2008 Business Showcase please visit the attached link. This will take you to the Business Showcase, on the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce website.

http://www.peoriachamber.org/goto/BusinessShowcase You will see three live links at the top of the page. The first link is to download the Exhibitor’s Service Manual (registration information). It is a large document, so if it may take some time to open. The other two links allow you to view who is already signed up for the trade show and which booth number they are assigned to. Please let me know if you have any questions about the Business Showcase. I will be glad to help.

Thank you,

Sarah Stabler Sarah

sstabler@chamber.h-p.org
Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce
A company of the Heartland Partnership
124 S.W. Adams St. Suite 300
Peoria, IL 61602
p: (309) 495-5914f: (309) 495-5978
Visit us at: www.peoriachamber.org

At Issue Economic Development Video

The three part At Issue series on economic development is now posted on the station's website.

Go to www.wtvp.org and click on programming on the task bar across the top. Then click on At Issue in the drop down box. The shows will appear with the most recent at the top. Just click on the picture and the half hour show will play.

3/04/2008

Joint Review Board (JRB)

The JRB meeting is scheduled for Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 3:00 pm in Room 404 of the City Hall. The public is welcome. This meeting will update representatives of all the City of Peoria taxing bodies on the nine existing Tax Increment Financing Districts (TIF). The performance of each TIF will be discussed, and compared to non TIF areas.

The JRB will also discuss the potential Hospitality Improvement Zone (HIZ) TIF, which would assist existing and potential hotels to improve in downtown Peoria. Our neighbors in Normal, Tinley Park, and East Peoria have all developed high quality hotel and conference centers using TIF incentives. The City of Peoria can choose to either compete for this business, or accept a decline in conference attendance in downtown.

City Economic Development staff will be presenting the potential HIZ TIF to the taxing bodies over the next month. More info at: