PEORIA, Ill. – The site of the former Harrison School in South Peoria will have an apartment complex in the near future.
The city council Tuesday night approved a rezoning request by Phoenix Community Development Services to change the area from Class R4 Single-Family Residential to Class CN Neighborhood Commercial District.
The change was needed as PCDS is planning to build a 48-unit permanent supportive housing complex. The complex would also come with a medical facility run by OSF that supporters say would be similar to a PromptCare facility, but with more services.
Community Development Director Joe Dulin says the vision is to have families experiencing homelessness move into the facility, and to give them a chance to bounce back and on their feet again.
“It does give them an opportunity to go from experiencing homelessness, to hopefully thriving, and then hopefully moving out after they have had those services and making room for another family who might be going through a similar thing,” Dulin said.
Dulin says one positive about the location is that it’s right across the street from Annie Jo Gordon Community Learning Center, nearby a city park, and on a bus route.
Dulin says the project has a commitment from the Peoria Housing Authority for 40 vouchers, and says there are anywhere between 20-35 families that could move in. He says that would free up shelters across the city.
City leaders see the development as part of a plan to help revitalize South Peoria, with the hope it could attract more businesses and bring residents back to the South Side.
Not everyone was on board with the plan, with 1st District Councilwoman Denise Jackson and At-Large Councilman John Kelly voting “no” on the plan.
Jackson made a motion to table the issue for a further meeting, saying that everyone with a stake in the project had not heard from OSF and Phoenix about the full plans. The motion was defeated, with Dulin saying the project plans needed to be sent to the Illinois Housing Development Authority needed by next month.
Jackson’s concerns echoed the Planning and Zoning Commission hearing on the rezoning last week, where multiple residents discussed their concerns.
“People have questions about it,” Jackson said. “We haven’t heard anything about safety in that community, workforce development.”
Kelly used the discussion prior to the vote to advocate for using city funding on other projects, even though no money was being spent with the vote. He didn’t believe that using money for new housing for homeless people was a good investment, and believes that the city could spend less money and get more value by helping homeowners and landlords rehabilitate their properties.
