Pekin city leaders, developers speak on new retailers coming to East Court Village

PEKIN (25News Now) – Three retailers are coming to Pekin’s East Court Village in the new year.

Cullinan Properties announced earlier this week that Ross Dress for Less, Marshalls, and Five Below plan to open in the shopping center in Fall 2025.

Cullinan approached the three retailers about coming to Pekin with the help of a third-party broker.

City leaders got involved in the process in May 2023 when they met with Cullinan executives about the new development and Pekin’s future.

“We have been bleeding out, as it was told to us, to other communities because we didn’t have the retail here. Now with this, it will bring more and more retail. We’re the largest city in Tazewell County, and we should be leading Tazewell County,” said Mayor Mary Burress of Pekin.

East Court Villiage is in one of Pekin’s tax increment financing districts, which are designed to lure new businesses into Pekin.

Cullinan said it’s received inquiries from other businesses since the announcement. The president of the company, Michael Gold, said there are opportunities for national chains and local businesses.

Both the developer and the city have high hopes for the future of East Court Village.

“These initial three stores have followers and once they get in and get established, there’s typically restaurants and other things that come with it. We have some good people working on this,” said Pekin City Manager John Dossey.

To prepare for the new retail, renovations at East Court Village have already started. The interior construction is going on now, and Cullinan wants to start construction on the exterior early next year.

“You’ll see a new facade, you’ll see new storefronts, a new roof being put on, and so we’re really excited. It’s a big upgrade, and long overdue. We couldn’t be more thrilled for the lineup that we have,” Gold said.

The former Bergner’s is being converted into spaces for each store, and more business space is being built alongside the building.

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