Viridis: Monday was a good day! That’s the day that Viridis Chemical hosted an open house to celebrate their move from Columbus, Nebraska, to Peoria. Viridis is a green chemical company that converts ethanol (produced at their neighbor, BioUrja) into ethyl acetate. This is a $24 million investment in our region, and the latest example of a company helping us prove the point that Peoria is Plant-Based. When fully operational, the facility will employ around 25 people. The open house was a packed house with comments made by Mayor Rita Ali, Congressman Darin LaHood, and Congressman Eric Sorensen. My thanks to Viridis CEO Pat Killian, his great staff, and the company’s investors for making Peoria its new home. Some press coverage here.
Economix: Thanks to a sponsorship from our friends at Wabash Valley Power Alliance (CornBelt Energy), I was able to attend the Economix conference in Orlando this week. Economix is a small conference that enables economic developers to interact more personally with site consultants. The conference is capped at about 200 total with two dozen site selectors attending. We all had a chance to meet with the consultants during a “speed dating” round, as well as during social hours and breakout sessions. It’s always great to hear about the latest trends in site selection “straight from the horse’s mouth.” There was considerable discussion about the rise of data centers and the pressure they are placing on the electrical grid. Other popular topics included the impact of tariffs on foreign direct investment, workforce availability, and site readiness. I was surprised to hear so many site consultants speak favorably about Illinois and the steps the state has taken to up its economic development game. (And, conversely, how difficult it has become to do business in Indiana.) A huge shoutout to Rachel Huser for the invitation, and congratulations to her for being named a Top 50 Economic Development Professional by the Economix team.
Rick Swan: Speaking of congratulations, we were excited to see Rick Swan, GPEDC Board Member and CEO of the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce, being awarded the honor of Distinguished Alumnus by Illinois Community College. Rick has been a great leader of his organization and a phenomenal partner with Greater Peoria EDC. It’s nice to see good people get recognized for all the good they do. That same event also honored another great local partner. The ICC Educational Foundation presented the Community Partner Award to Caterpillar Inc. in recognition of its support of ICC students and programs.
3rd Quarter Report: Some of you reading this Weekend Update will have received a copy in the mail, but we want everyone to see Greater Peoria EDC’s third quarter report. This truly is just the highlights of the quarter, and it’s hard to pick just a few stories. You can see the report here.
Survey Time: “Peoria County 200+” is the process of updating Peoria County’s Land Use Plan, a document last refreshed in 2009. This updated plan will be shaped by the people who call Peoria County home, helping define how the County grows, changes, and thrives for years to come. To facilitate public input, the team has created a survey that can be accessed here. In addition to the comprehensive land use plan, Greater Peoria EDC and its consultants are working to craft an economic development strategy to present to the County board next summer. For more information about this planning process and other opportunities to provide feedback, please visit the project website here.