Intends to sell Peoria building
By NICK VLAHOS
For The Weekly Post
PEORIA – The Peoria County Farm Bureau planned more than 50 years ago to move its headquarters out of Peoria. It looks like that finally might happen, perhaps this year.
The Farm Bureau intends to sell its building at 1716 N. University St. and construct a facility at its park along Kickapoo-Edwards Road south of Interstate 74 near Kickapoo. The new building might cost between $1.5 million and $2 million.
Location, convenience and proximity to Farm Bureau members are primary reasons for the proposed move, according to Cheryl Walsh, the county organization’s board president. She assumed office late last year.
“When I campaigned to be the next president, one of the biggest things I heard was, ‘It would sure be nice if the office wasn’t in the center of Peoria,’” Walsh said Monday. “That was from veteran members, people who have been members for 50-plus years.
“A lot of comments were, ‘I would come to that event if it wasn’t in downtown Peoria at night.’ They’d just like to see the office moved to a more central location in the county. You can’t get much more central than Kickapoo.”
Kickapoo is as central now as it was in 1974, the year the Farm Bureau acquired the 15-acre park plot.
“When they bought that land, the anticipation was to move the office there,” Walsh said. “Some people believed we needed to be in Peoria so we could have a presence. But what I’ve learned is it really doesn’t matter where you’re at in the county.
“If (people) want to talk to you, they’ll drive five more miles.”
The Farm Bureau has been saving and investing money to pay for a new building, according to Walsh. The current building, constructed in 1953 just north of Bradley University, houses the organization’s four full-time employees. Other businesses and organizations rent much of the building, which is about 12,000 square feet and located on almost 3 acres of land.
Farm Bureau Park includes an open-air pavilion with picnic tables, restrooms and a swing set for children. It’s available for rental to Farm Bureau members.
The Farm Bureau has received an appraisal regarding the University Street building, Walsh said. The board was to meet Tuesday, after The Weekly Post deadline. More details and committee reports were expected to be considered then.
Walsh indicated the process accelerated only within the past few weeks. If the current building is sold before the new one is completed, offices would relocate to rented space.
“We haven’t really explored a lot of options on anything,” Walsh said.
Ideally, the new building would be completed by Dec. 1 and also house the county branch of the University of Illinois Extension, according to Walsh. The Extension office is at 4810 N. Sheridan Rd. in Peoria. Long-range plans include creating a small fairgrounds at the park for 4H and FFA events.
“This is not going to happen overnight,” Walsh said about the fairgrounds. “We have to take baby steps. We have absolutely nothing for the Peoria County kids that show livestock.”
Farm Bureau Park is not large enough for a full-fledged fairgrounds, according to Walsh. The future of the county’s de facto fair, the Heart of Illinois Fair in Peoria, is uncertain. The City of Peoria purchased the HOI Fair site, Exposition Gardens, last year and intends to facilitate residential development there.
There is no connection between the Farm Bureau and the HOI Fair, according to Walsh.
