PEORIA MAGAZINE March 2022

“IT’S SUCH AN INTEGRAL PART OF WHO WE WILL BE AS A MINISTRY. WE THINK IT’S A VITAL, VITAL PIECE TO THE REJUVENATION OF DOWNTOWN.” JIM MORMANN, CEO OF INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS AT OSF

of the downtown and bridged river. The historic stairwells remain. A thoroughly modern touch is the rooftop garden over the third-floor annex. Meanwhile, parts of the block, largely along Main Street, are ripe for development. OSF – which is a health care provider, after all – is hoping others step up to do that. A lready, the building is getting rave reviews. OSF Spokeswoman Shelli Dankoff alludes to the number of people with fond memories of the place who have approached OSF executives to say “thank you for saving this building.” Just a few weeks in, “we already see the benefits we would have hoped to see,” said Sehring, noting the “casual collisions” of people and ideas that really move any company and community forward. They’re thrilled at the nearby Jimmy Johns, where they’re already making more sandwiches and thinking about extending their hours. “Peoria’s downtown is and will remain the flagship for our region,”

but also a critical link in an “innovation corridor” containing Bradley University, theAgLab, DistilleryLabs, JumpTrading Simulation Center, Caterpillar, etc. A s OSF and the community turned the corner into 2018, of course, no one foresawa global pandemic coming, along with a significant global supply chain disruption, among other surprises. As cool as the original terra cotta on the building’s façade was, it would have to come down to repair the crumbling brick behind it, then be reinstalled. The heating and cooling system was ancient and in need of replacement. Two whole floors would have to be dismantled and rebuilt from scratch. There were underground tunnels and vaults. Construction workers stumbled upon the old escalators, hidden behind walls. Each of the 350 trademark “Chicago windows,” no two of them alike, had to be custom made. Building codes in 2020 were quite a bit more stringent than in 1904. And there were other bosses to deal with, specifically the Illinois Historical Society and National Park Service,

which had to sign off on everything given the block’s ’s historic landmark status. Sometimes, work would almost come to a standstill. Still worth it? “It is a beautiful building,” said Mormann,whocomplimentedtheskilled trades that came together to do “really remarkable work” and the researchers – including the Peoria Public Library’s – who helped OSF remain faithful to the structure’s heyday look and spirit. “It’s such an integral part of who we will be as a ministry ... yeah, you take a lot of pride in it,” he said. “We think it’s a vital, vital piece to the rejuvenation of downtown.” I f the exterior is impressive to those driving or walking by, well, inside, it’s really something to behold. OSF had to decide on an era to guide the restoration, and landed on the 1940s-‘50s as the peak look and also the most functional in terms of modern-day work flow. A time traveler from that period certainly would recognize the building’s 350 columns and ornate capitals. The building brags spectacular views

46 MARCH 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE