SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS) — Springfield city council met for its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night and passed many ordinances that will have a big impact on Springfield going forward.
First, the council approved $520,000 of downtown TIF funds to go to Floyd’s Thirst Parlor for their project of building a kitchen and opening the Capital City’s first rooftop bar at the downtown location.
John Gabala, the owner’s attorney, gave a brief presentation and he said this move will expand downtown dining options and help revitalize the downtown area.
Ward 5 Alderwoman Lakeisha Purchase was instrumental in getting the project off the ground and said she is ecstatic to have another economic driver in the area.
“The fact that we are able to create more jobs in this entity, that says something, too,” Purchase said. “We are coming out of a pandemic, but we are still in it in for an entity such as Floyd’s to have that impact and be able to create these jobs, both full-time and part-time, it says a lot”
The city’s portion is one-third, or $520,000, which comes from the downtown TIF. The rest of the money will be a loan from a local bank. Gabala said the project would create 41 jobs – 25 full-time and 16 part-time.