The Taft Homes are a

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

project located off the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

in Peoria,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. In total there are 200 apartments in Taft, housed in separate wood-framed buildings. The Taft Homes are currently in the early stages of a redevelopment project that calls for the demolition of all current units, with the lots then transformed into

mixed-income housing The definition of mixed-income housing is broad and encompasses many types of dwellings and neighborhoods. Following Brophy and Smith, the following will discuss “non-organic” examples of mixed-income housing, meaning “a deliberate effort to ...

History

The Taft Homes, named after Ohio senator Robert A Taft, were originally built in 1952 as a temporary means of shelter for veterans returning from the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. The buildings soon transitioned to low income housing and during the 1960s and 70s the housing project saw multiple violent riots. In 1968 ten

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

s and a

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

were wounded after a minor incident turned into a race riot that lasted for around 3 hours. A second major race riot occurred in 1970 after the police evicted two female residents from the Taft Homes; resulting in rioting that spread throughout other public housing projects in the city. In 1996 all 220 units in the complex underwent comprehensive rehabilitation efforts by the city; the units received new siding, flooring and plumbing in order to make the buildings more energy efficient. The renovation efforts also added, and updated parking, lighting, sidewalks as well as various

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

work. During its modernization effort the Housing Authority decided to demolish the 15 buildings closest to the river, that were known for illicit activities. The

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

, U.S. Navy Seabees and

Illinois Air National Guard The Illinois Air National Guard (IL ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Illinois, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Illinois Army National Guard, an element of the Illinois Natio ...

helped in the demolition effort.

Redevelopment plan

Following the rehabilitation project of 1996 Peoria Public Housing decided to pursue a redevelopment of the units. The plan calls for a mixed income neighborhood, that could include some market rate homes, along the desirable Illinois River. The first development would begin along the

shoreline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

, an area left vacant by the demolition of the 15 original buildings located at the site. Demolition of the current buildings would begin after the current residents find alternate housing options.

Conditions

In 2019,

ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...

and ''

The Southern Illinoisan ''The Southern Illinoisan'' is a daily newspaper and multimedia news platform based in Carbondale, Illinois, known locally as "The Southern." It is one of the major regional newspaper and media services for southern Illinois. The most recent e ...

'' reported that Taft Homes failed three of its five recent inspections. Residents reported issues with mold, maggots, cockroaches, water damage, exposed gas pipes, uncovered outlets, and other code violations. Police patrols of the area increased due to a high crime rate.

Providence Pointe

On October 7 2021, groundbreaking began for the new Providence Pointe development. The first phase of demolition was completed in September 2022 and construction for the new units began. The new development plans for 142 affordable housing units, from one to five bedrooms. Units will be completed in rolling sets of 50. Instead of the barracks-style of Taft Homes, Providence Pointe will include

townhouses A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residenc ...

and modern single-level houses. Rent is based on income and family size, capped at 30% of

adjusted gross income In the United States income tax system, adjusted gross income (AGI) is an individual's total gross income minus specific deductions. It is used to calculate taxable income, which is AGI minus allowances for personal exemptions and itemized d ...

. The estimated development cost is $43.7 million. The first residents moved into the new Providence Pointe units in September 2023. Three Taft buildings remain; the Providence Pointe completion target date is March 2024.

References

{{reflist Residential buildings completed in 1952 Public housing in the United States Buildings and structures in Peoria, Illinois