Peoria Place roadwork due in November

The new owner of Peoria Place, a 127-acre, mixed-use development planned for downtown adjacent to Peoria City Hall, is moving forward with roadwork next month.

However, don't expect to see construction of the retail, residential or office components any time soon.

The Ellman Cos., which developed the 223-acre, mixed-use Westgate City Center in Glendale, purchased Peoria Place in December for an undisclosed price.

"We think it's a very good mixed-use development opportunity," said Jeff Teetsel, senior vice president for development with Phoenix-based Ellman.

Teetsel also noted the strategic location of the parcel along such major roadways as Grand Avenue.

Construction of Cotton Crossing and improvements to 79th Avenue are expected to begin in November.

"We should complete them in 12 months or less," Teetsel said. "Vertical construction would not start until the roadways are done. So the earliest you would see it would be a year from now, and at this time nothing is scheduled."

He said it's likely a separate developer would build each of the project's components - residential, office and retail.

"We've had interest expressed to us for multifamily parcels," Teetsel said. "Given the infill location of the project, even in light of the market conditions, it won't surprise me to see vertical (construction) for the later part of '09 on part of the property. But I think it would be somewhat optimistic for each and every parcel to go vertical this time next year."

Matt Robbins, project manager for Scott Communities, which is managing the development, said they may have a better idea of the time frame in three months.

"We are marketing the parcels right now," Robbins said. "There's a lot of stuff going on right now and things are changing rapidly. This project is going forward full speed."

The project has been in Peoria's planning office since summer 2006 but efforts started earlier than that on it, said Scott Cooper, economic-development coordinator.

The project was originally scheduled to break ground early this past summer but hit a few roadblocks, according to the city.

Officials view Peoria Place as a major player in the city's plans to redevelop its aging downtown. Teetsel said Peoria Place's build-out value was easily more than $200 million.