The Taft Homes are a public housing

Public housing

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...

 project located off the Illinois River

Illinois River

The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...

 in Peoria

Peoria, Illinois

Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. 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.

History

The Taft Homes were originally built in 1952 as a temporary means of shelter for veterans returning from the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. 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 officers

Police officer

A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...

 and a reporter 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

Landscape

Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...

 work. Durings 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

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

, U.S. Navy Seabees

Seabee

Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...

 and Illinois Air National Guard

Illinois Air National Guard

The Illinois Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is, along with the Illinois Army National Guard, an element of the Illinois National Guard...

 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, 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.