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Chicago & Midwest  + Midwest  + Opportunity Zones  | 

Innovation Hub Planned for Peoria’s Opportunity Zone

The Greater Peoria Economic Council is teaming with OSF HealthCare, the University of Illinois System and Illinois Central College to develop a Peoria Innovation Hub. Located in the Thomas Building within Peoria’s federally-designated Opportunity Zone, the hub will focus on finding solutions to improve the wellness of underserved populations, and advance systems related to food, farming and transportation.

“Peoria has a long history of groundbreaking research and development,” said State Sen. Dave Koehler. “The Innovation Hub will build on our regional strengths of healthcare, manufacturing and agriculture in order to deliver new jobs and startup companies that will strengthen the Illinois economy.”

Among the possible elements identified for the hub are makerspace with machinery; digital makerspace; a virtual classroom to connect with the U of I system’s three universities and regional satellite campuses; and office space and conference rooms. Assuming proper funding levels, the facility could open by mid-2020.


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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

  • ◦Economy
  • ◦Development
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