Public-private partnerships work. Peoria shows us how
Last December, OSF Healthcare, the largest Illinois hospital conglomerate outside of Chicago, celebrated the ribbon-cutting of their new, $140 million state headquarters facility in our downtown. This year, the building officially opened its doors to the more than 500 employees who will be based there. This relocation is not only creating jobs and helping to grow our economy, but is a blueprint for how we can use public incentives to spur private economic development.
When Caterpillar decided in 2017 to relocate their headquarters from the historic Chase Bank building in downtown Peoria to Deerfield, many feared for the ramifications the decision would make on the city’s economy. I worried about not only the prospect of hundreds of jobs leaving the city, but also that the building was now to be vacant and slated for demolition.
The story of the building’s transformation from being on the brink of destruction to a historic gem that’s now home to hundreds of Peoria workers is one that never would have happened without collaboration between our state government and private industry. It’s a case study in how public incentives can attract private development that creates major return on investment for our state.
More:Some buildings in Peoria skyline reach hundreds of feet into the air. Here are the tallest
Nearly four years ago, I proudly sponsored bipartisan legislation that was ultimately signed into law to improve and expand the existing River Edge Redevelopment River Edge Redevelopment Zone Historic Tax Credit (RERZ) to create a new statewide Historic Preservation Tax Credit (HPTC).
RERZ was originally designed to revitalize Illinois’ once-thriving river towns through economic investment in struggling properties adjacent to rivers, and resulted in significant economic development in Peoria since its inception. I saw an opportunity to expand this successful program and extend its benefits to Peoria and other eligible projects throughout our state. Through the HPTC law, landmark preservation projects statewide that meet one of five specific criteria could access the existing 25 percent RERZ tax credit from the state. It also created $15 million in tax credits to be administered by the state’s Historic Preservation Division.
In 2018, OSF Healthcare was able to take advantage of the HPTC to bring its headquarters to downtown Peoria. In order to access the tax credits, work was necessary to restore the building’s historic facade. Through the construction and contracting necessary to complete the restoration, this project from the outset brought economic opportunity to our community and preserved a historic structure for the appreciation of generations to come.
Four years after my legislation became law, I’m thrilled that projects that have qualified for the RERZ credit and the provisions of the 2018 expansion have created jobs in construction, business, technology, and countless other industries throughout our state, all while restoring and revitalizing blighted, vacant buildings and jumpstarting local economies.
Abandoned and intriguing:Learn about these 5 vacant properties around central Illinois
Through this law I also sought to address another problem - a lack of diversity when it comes to where our tax dollars are going to stimulate economic development. We always need to be intentional in our efforts to develop a diverse workforce, and that’s why my legislation also required companies who access the tax credits to have minority participation for contractors, marketers, architects, and others involved in the project.
I’m thrilled to see OSF workers now filling the historic Chase Bank building, but this also means a lot more than that to me. Stories like these can provide a roadmap for using public-private partnerships to provide benefits to taxpayers and local economies alike.
Jehan Gordon-Booth represents the 92nd district in the Illinois House of Representatives.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria shows us how public-private partnerships work
