PEORIA (25News Now) – Peoria City Council voted 8-2 Tuesday night in favor of rezoning and approving a special use for an apartment building on West Krause Avenue.
Phoenix Community Development Services and OSF HealthCare will work together to turn the site into Phoenix Manor, a 48-unit apartment building for families leaving homelessness. An OSF clinic on site will serve both the property and the surrounding community.
Last week, District 1 City Council Member Denise Jackson held a community meeting in which she and several residents expressed concerns about the project.
But, after that, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the project, even recommending they get some waivers.
Tuesday, Jackson called for the vote to be put off so council could hear more from Phoenix and OSF.
“It would only be appropriate to have a formal presentation by Phoenix and OSF, especially in light of the fact that OSF has never been in 61605 in this capacity, so if we could I would like to defer this,” Jackson said.
Ultimately, the motion to defer failed and Jackson and at-large member John Kelly voted against the rezoning.
Some on the council, including at-large member Bernice Gordon-Young, said the city can do a better job in the future keeping residents and council members informed about projects like this. Others, like District 3 council member Tim Riggenbach said they don’t need to be ashamed of their public engagement efforts thus far.
Representatives from Phoenix and OSF were present at the council meeting. State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria), in this case representing OSF. He indicated the on-site health clinic will likely operate similar to OSF On Call facilities throughout Central Illinois, but the exact operations have yet to be finalized.
Spain said the 15-year lease for the Krause Avenue clinic is longer than usual for OSF, but they intend to make their footprint in the 61605 “permanent.”
Mayor Rita Ali, who used to live in South Peoria, voted in favor even though her usual ally, Council member Jackson voted no.
“I’m very excited about the investment that it brings to the south side of Peoria and Peoria South. I’m excited, it’s a beautiful two-story design. I was hoping Councilwoman Jackson that we would be able to celebrate this together,” Ali said.
A mixture of federal, state, local, and private money will fund the $29 million project.
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