PEORIA — The north side of the City of Peoria is continuing to grow commercially.
A new commercial development is expected to bring at least three retail outlets, including a Walgreens, McDonald’s and Schnuck’s supermarket, to the northern edge of Peoria.
The construction of the Walgreens outlet has already started at the “Knoxville Crossing” development site that’s located off Knoxville Avenue between Alta and Wilhelm roads.
The Walgreens outlet is being constructed on a 13.8-acre tract of land owned by the Methodist Medical Group.
“We expect Walgreens to be completed this year,” said Methodist Medical Group Spokesman Duane Funk.
According to at-large Peoria City Councilman Chuck Weaver, a McDonald’s outlet will be constructed on a commercial lot near the Walgreens outlet.
“The McDonald’s site plan for Knoxville Crossing was approved,” said Weaver. “I believe it’s a great location for a McDonald’s.”
It’s uncertain when the construction of the McDonald’s outlet will start, said Weaver.
In addition to the Walgreens commercial lot and McDonald’s commercial lot, Methodist Medical Group owns two other commercial lots on the 13.8-acre tract of land.
Methodist Medical Group is selling one of the two vacant commercial lots and plans to reserve the other lot for themselves, said Funk.
“We have one remaining lot for sale at the present time,” said Funk. “The remaining property will be reserved for Methodist’s use.”
Wald-Land Corp. of Peoria is developing Methodist’s commercial lots.
According to Russ Waldschmidt, a partner with Wald-Land Corp., the McDonald’s outlet is expected to open at the same time Walgreens outlet does.
“I know they’d (Walgreens) like to be open by Oct. 1 when they head into their busy season,” said Waldschmidt.
A commercial and real estate developer, Weaver owned and redeveloped the property on the Knoxville Crossing development site before selling it to the Methodist Medical Group and The DESCO Group in 2008.
Originally, Methodist Medical Group purchased the property to expand their facilities.
“The property was purchased to support the future development of the Methodist Medical Group and other ambulatory services,” said Funk.
The DESCO Group of St. Louis owns a 26-acre tract of land in the southern portion of the Knoxville Cross development site. They plan to develop a Schnuck’s supermarket on that tract of land.
“We intend on building a store there, but at this time we do not have a construction time table,” said Schnuck’s Spokesman Paul Simon. “I think there’s been some sewer work done and some grating, but that is the extent of the work that’s been done.”
Methodist has completed the infrastructure work, including roads, sewers, water and utilities for their four commercial lots.
“The infrastructure work has been completed,” said Funk. “A landscaping buffer between the development and the neighbors will be completed in the spring.”
The 13.8-acre tract was annexed from Peoria County into the City of Peoria in a two-step process. The 26-acre tract was part of an annexation agreement between the City of Peoria and Peoria County when Growth Cell 2 was established in 1995.
Several residential subdivisions surround the Knoxville Crossing development site. An estimated 2,241 people live within a mile of the development site, 7,533 people live within three miles of the development site and 21,723 people live within five miles of the development site.
