Peoria All American City

Peoria Wins 2013 All American City Award

Date: 

June 25, 2013

Peoria is once again an All American City!  Peoria has won the 2013 All America City Award!  Ten communities received the award at the All America City Award conference in Denver this weekend.  Peoria also won the separate online video contest and Elite Drum Corp member Ethan Mosher earned the distinct recognition of the All America City Youth Award.  The Peoria Chamber’s Young Professionals led this initiative and members say they are beyond thrilled at the support they received from individuals and businesses all across the region.
You can watch the presentation the Peoria delegation presented to the judges by clicking here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw7GUwAZKaI

If you haven't yet seen Peoria's "Forever Young" video entry you can view it herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HanJnGg4ZP4&feature=youtube_gdata_player.

More than 500 people participated in it and the final tally was more than 20,000 views and over 1,800 likes.

A delegation of 30+ people (including the Elite Drumline) went to Denver to present Peoria’s story to the National Civic League.  Thank you to everyone who participated in the All America City Award Peoria effort.  We will announce details for a press conference to present the award to the city later this week.

SynergiCity - New Book About Urban Redevelopment - Chapter on Peoria

With a particular emphasis on the Rust Belt of the American Midwest, SynergiCity argues that cities such as Detroit, St. Louis, and Peoria must redefine themselves to be globally competitive. This revitalization is possible through environmentally and economically sustainable restoration of industrial areas and warehouse districts for commercial, research, light industrial, and residential uses. The volume's expert researchers, urban planners, and architects draw on the redevelopment successes of other major cities--such as the American Tobacco District in Durham, North Carolina, and the Milwaukee River Greenway--to set guidelines and goals for reinventing and revitalizing the postindustrial landscape.

Contributors are Paul J. Armstrong, Donald K. Carter, Lynne M. Dearborn, Norman W. Garrick, Mark L. Gillem, Robert Greenstreet, Craig Harlan Hullinger, Paul Hardin Kapp, Ray Lees, Emil Malizia, John O. Norquist, Christine Scott Thomson, and James H. Wasley.

"Instead of handing over neighborhoods to city hall or private developers, this book shows that the solution to many cities' plights lies within them. Empowering residents to take control of and build on community assets, engaging them in community-based organizations that can spearhead revitalization and build real quality of place, yields real results. To the extent that they adopt a holistic approach to planning and build on a city's intrinsic strengths, they can accomplish miracles."--from the foreword by Richard Florida

Table of Contents

Hardcover $60.00 Buy Now

* Full Disclosure - Ray Lees and I wrote a chapter.

Craig Harlan Hullinger AICP

http://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/2010/jul/synergicity

Peoria Warehouse District Redevelopment

Ray Lees and Craig Hullinger at the Reconstruction of Washington Street in the Warehouse District

Reviving the Warehouse District

The city’s Warehouse District has earned a chapter in a recently-published book about developments in “the post-industrial city.”

 

Ray Lees and Craig Hullinger co-authored the chapter in “SynergiCity,” a compilation of essays edited by Paul Hardin Kapp and Paul Armstrong, both professors at the University of Illinois.
 

“SynergiCity” examines urban change since World War II when the industrial bases of many cities moved elsewhere

Click to read more:

pjstar.com/archive/x83403513/Reviving-the-Warehouse-District

pjstar.com/search?q=lees%20hullinger&submit=Search#ixzz2VWlxu7TB

Recent Project Updates

May 16, 2013: The next construction meeting has been moved to 5pm on Thursday, May 30. Please join us at the Gateway Building for more detailed information regarding upcoming construction and staging. Members of the project team will be on-hand to respond to any questions or comments.

As part of the City of Peoria's plans to encourage new development in the Warehouse District, the City of Peoria was awarded a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II grant program. The Warehouse District TIGER II project will not only rebuild the street network but also improve safety, accessibility and aesthetics for residents and businesses in the Warehouse District.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, with (from left) Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis, former Peoria Mayor Richard Carver, Illinois State Senator Dave Koehler, and Peoria Councilman Ryan Spain, speaks at the March 8, 2013 Warehouse District TIGER II Complete Streets and Washington Street Improvement Projects groundbreaking.

Concurrently, the City of Peoria is also performing the Washington Street Improvement Project, which aims to transform Washington Street into a safer, more attractive facility for motorists and pedestrians alike. The Washington Street Improvement Project extends from Hamilton Boulevard to MacArthur Highway through the Warehouse District and Business District of downtown Peoria.

The Warehouse District project area includes the Warehouse District TIGER II Complete Streets project on streets shown in blue and the Washington Street Improvement Project, shown in red. The Washington Street Improvement Project also extends further north to Main Street. For a larger view of the study area, click here. Imagery: Bing Maps.

Artist's rendering of streetscape improvements and enhanced public space near O'Brien Field, on the northwest corner of Oak and Adams Streets. For a larger view, click here.

While the Warehouse District is larger than just the roadways included in this project, the TIGER II grant funding will go towards street repairs and streetscaping on side streets roughly bounded by Walnut Street on the north; Jefferson Street on the west; Persimmon Street on the south; and the Illinois River on the east. Improvements to other streets in the Warehouse District are expected to occur in the future.