PEORIA, Ill. – A public hearing will take place next month over the creation of a Business Development District for Glen Hollow Shopping Center in Peoria.
The city council on Tuesday night approved the date of the hearing, which is to take place on September 23rd.
City Manager Patrick Urich says the request for the district came from Glen Hollow’s owners.
Urich says the creation of the district could lead to the establishment of a 1% sales tax on top of other taxes at Glen Hollow to provide for services in the area. He says that could include improvements to buildings, acquisition of property, marketing, and more.
Urich says there are two such districts in place in Peoria, one for the downtown hotels and the other at Keller Station, with several established in East Peoria.
Not everyone on the council was on board with the proposal. 2nd District Councilman Alex Carmona and At-Large Councilman John Kelly voted against the hearing, and spoke of their concerns with the plan.
Carmona says he does see the positives of the district, such as more goods and services for people to buy and job creation. But he feels the district would amount to a “bailout.”
“To me, this is corporate welfare paid for by the people who are going to affect most, our taxpayers, low and middle class,” Carmona said.
Carmona says the establishment of the district could set a precedent that he would not look forward to. He proposed having policies set by the council and the city on how to address building vacancies and the health of shopping centers.
At-Large Councilman Zach Oyler spoke in favor of the proposal, saying the city needed to do something to try and attract and keep businesses from leaving Peoria. One example he gave was receiving numerous calls about the recent move by Best Buy across the river from Peoria to East Peoria.
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