(25News Now) – The Village of Metamora and Creve Coeur are looking to expand housing and commercial opportunities, and they’re asking cities like East Peoria to join in their economic development.
Currently, East Peoria, the City of Washington, Tazewell County and Germantown Hills are part of the Northern Tazewell County Enterprise Zone, which has recently expanded from 15 to about 20 square miles, granted by the state.
If approved, one village would expand a square mile while the other would expand half a square mile.
Leaders from East Peoria say that the goal is to add additional members and increase some of their area.
“It provides an opportunity for an incentive for a community to offer to develop targeted areas of communities. So, we look at commercial and industrial areas typically, but then more recently, communities including East Peoria have looked at residential, looking at mixed use development like blue town multifamily, ways to spur that development…” said director of planning and community development for the City of East Peoria, Ty Livingston.
Through the state program, businesses can receive sales tax exemptions on qualifying business materials and other tax benefits when they invest or expand within the zone.
East Peoria has already purchased the land on Route 24 and Centennial Drive to expand housing development, while Metamora is developing housing, and possible business development, on 135 acres on Route 116.
“We’ve included places like Metamora fields, where there’s lots to be developed and houses can be built on that wonderful golf course out there. And we want to be able to provide any incentives we can as the housing market is already a tough market and cost to build is extremely high, but doing the things we can help incentivize new development, help incentivize construction,” said village administrator for the Village of Metamora, Cole McDaniel.
Next step in the process includes a public hearing Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Council Chambers (Rooms 112 and 113) at the East Peoria Civic Plaza.
After that, each individual village and city will go back to their council to approve the plan, until it is later approved by the state.
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