Historic downtown Peoria mansion has a new owner
‘It’s got an elegance and makes me feel like we’re more connected’
A historic building in downtown Peoria has been sold.
Parker and Parker Law Firm has purchased the building at 300 NE Perry Ave., following their exit from the Chase Bank building. Parker and Parker purchased the building for $460,000 from Kuma Properties, according to Peoria County records.
Rob Parker told the Journal Star that they jumped on purchasing the building on Perry Avenue, which dates back to 1885, quickly after Riverview Plaza, also known as the Chase Bank building, was closed to tenants.
“It’s got an elegance and makes me feel like we’re more connected to Peoria,” Rob Parker said of the Perry Avenue property. “Where we were before, at the top of the now closed Chase Bank building ... great views, but one it was one of the newer buildings way up high in the sky. This building — I don’t know where it ranks — but it’s got to be one of the older buildings downtown. It’s got a lot of interesting history to it.”
Kuma Properties purchased the building from Benassi and Benassi law firm in 2021. Benassi and Benassi bought the building in 1993 for $600,000, according to county records. It was built in 1885 as a residence but was later converted to a mortuary.
Parker also said the Perry Avenue building allows people to stop in easier and has a “more comfortable feel.”
Parker and Parker moved out of Riverview Plaza on Feb. 16 and started renting at 300 NE Perry while working on closing on the property.
“When things shut down that day we started looking and we quickly jumped on this building because, one, we figured there would be others who would begin looking sooner than later and two, we knew there was nothing even slightly comparable to it as far as commercial real estate downtown — so, it really seemed like an opportunity,” Parker said.
Riverview Plaza closed on Feb. 9 after problems were found with the building’s fire systems.
Parker said they anticipated a closing of the building would happen at some point, given the issues with the fire system had been unresolved for some time. But while they did not expect the building to close as quickly as it did, the law practice had started preparing for it months ago.