What that commercial development might entail or when it might take place isn’t certain.
The East Bluff block is bounded by Knoxville Avenue on the west, Dechman Avenue on the east, Illinois Avenue on the north and Pennsylvania Avenue on the south.
“It’s big enough that it could be multiple uses,” said Michael Seghetti, a Peoria attorney who represents a local firm that has a contract to purchase all of it.
Among properties on that block are a former hotel and a former gasoline station, both of which face Knoxville Avenue. Neither facility is in use.
Residences occupy the northeast quadrant of the block. That area is in line to be rezoned from multi-family residential to general commercial. The latter zoning matches the rest of the block.
Some city officials believe a car-centric business proposed for the northeast corner might make it too busy.
Club Car Wash intends to open another Peoria outlet at 1217 W. Glen Ave. Currently, the site is home to the GlenHaven strip mall.
Among businesses there are a Chinese restaurant, a Mediterranean grocery and a computer-repair facility. A possible increase of in-and-out traffic concerns Mike Wiesehan, chairman of the city Planning and Zoning Commission.
“Is it the best thing for that corner? I don’t know,” he said about the car wash. “I feel there could be a better use for this.”
During a meeting earlier this month, the commission voted 4-2 to recommend the City Council approve land-use changes that would allow car wash construction. Wiesehan and commissioner George Ghareeb voted against it.
That’s too long to be empty, according to at least one city official.
“This is a gem in the city,” said Mike Wiesehan, chairman of the municipal Planning and Zoning Commission.
The good news from that perspective is part of that 4½-acre lot might not be vacant much longer. And the rest of it might be filled eventually with a combination of retail and residential buildings.
A business has a contract to purchase 1.6 acres at the northwest corner of the property, according to Peoria-based developer Katie Kim. That would be at the southeast edge of one of the busiest intersections in Peoria.