Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Pere Marquette and Marriott Courtyard Construction (JS, 4/25/12)

The JSEB wrote,."Construction of a new hotel in not lacking in justification. Absent from Peoria's Downtown is the kind of upscale Convention hotel that East Peoria has, for example, in it's Embassy Suites, with business ostensibly being lost because of it. Arguably, such a hotel is needed to protect the cit's enormous investment in the Civic Center over the past three decades. This page is no fan of these taxpayer-provided inducements to the private sector, but the way business is done these days, no new hotel or major renovation of the flagging Pere will likely occur without some public involvement".

Ok, 6 years later the Pere is still 'flagging', the Civic Center is projecteed to lose half a million this year and the taxpayer in the near future is going to be a bunch of sad sack saddled with NEW taxes from every publiic taxing body.

Dreamers and Consults back in June 2002, the City paid a planner $65,000, the Stae of Illinois, paid $65,000, thee Civic Center board pledged $50,000 and the rest of the $250,000 cost.

16 years later we still have some od the same Dreamers and more of consultants and where are we?

Good question, .Answer; stuck and going sidewise and more downhill. The 2002 consultant compared us to Ft. Meyers, Fla. and the dreamers bit.

We are still trying to make 'a silk ourse out of a sows ears'. No offense intended to the sows.

No comments: