ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager with a Request to APPROVE the PURCHASE of the SIMANTEL PROPERTY Located at the Foot of SPRING STREET for $180,000.00 (less the paid purchase options of $58,000.00) (Council District 1).
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BACKGROUND: The National Park Service has authorized the conversion application for Riverplex, Rocky Glen, and the Simantel property. This will close out the conversion of LWCF land that began with the transfer of riverfront land to the Peoria Park District for the Riverplex facility in 1999. Jim Simantel provided the City with a no-cost Purchase Option that expires September 30, 2019. Jim Simantel has also agreed to reduce his purchase price by $20,000.00 to $180,000.00 should the Council agree to the purchase prior to September 30, 2019.
In the 1980s, the City received two Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grants from the State of Illinois (passed through to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) from the National Park Service (NPS)) that allowed the City to create Riverfront Park. According to the grant regulations, if any use other than public open space was desired, the City would need to propose compensating open space. This new open space must be equal or greater in financial and recreational value to space being lost. In 1999, the Riverplex project was proposed and 3.345 acres of land was removed from LWCF designation. The City originally proposed land in Southtown as replacement property, but this property was developed into Kindred Hospital and the Gateway at River City supportive living facility. In 2013, IDNR and NPS approved the City purchase of the Rocky Glen parcel in the City of West Peoria as compensating open space. However, additional land was needed to compensate the LWCF grant. In 2015, the City proposed purchasing 1.3 acres owned by Jim and Linda Simantel as part of the River Trail project. While the River Trail project did not materialize, the Simantel property...
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