OSF HealthCare Ministry Headquarters
Collaborative preservation and historic tax credits helped bring the “Big White Store” back to its former glory.
The Schipper and Block department store building opened in downton Peoria in 1905 as the city’s first steel-framed structure. The building contributes to the Downtown Peoria Historic District which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Today the building is rehabilitated and adaptively reused as the administrative offices for OSF HealthCare.
JLK was the lead Historic Preservation Architect and the Historic Tax Credit Consultant for the project. JLK conducted archival research, reviewed historic documentation, and surveyed and documented existing historic materials, finishes, and features throughout the building. JLK prepared a building preservation plan to detail this information and guide the project. Historic preservation architects and architectural historians at JLK coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and guided the project team in conforming with the Secretary of the Interior’s Rehabilitation Treatment Standards.
The project utilized federal and state historic tax credits to rehabilitate the building. JLK completed all tax credit documentation and managed consultation with the SHPO and National Park Service.
Opened in 1905, the Schipper and Block department store building was Peoria’s first steel-framed structure. The seven-story building is clad with white-glazed terra cotta that led to local’s calling it “The Big White Store.” Ownership of the building changed several times throughout the twentieth century, but the building remained a thriving department store until the mid-1970s. Several banks occupied the building through 2015 when it was sold to Caterpillar. Initial plans for demolition fell through and the building remained vacant and deteriorating until OSF HealthCare aquired it in 2018 with the intent to invest in downtown Peoria and return the building back to its former glory. Today, the 275,865-square-foot rehabilitated space can accomodate nearly 750 employees.
2023
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award
National Trust for Historic Preservation
2023
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award
Landmarks Illinois
2022
Silver Award – Existing Building/Mixed Use
Association of Licensed Architects
2022
Restoration Award
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Prairie Chapter
2022
Award of Merit – Best Renovation/Retrofit/Preservation Project
Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI)
2022
Award of Merit – Health Care
ENR Midwest
The Schipper and Block department store building opened in downton Peoria in 1905 as the city’s first steel-framed structure. The building contributes to the Downtown Peoria Historic District which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Today the building is rehabilitated and adaptively reused as the administrative offices for OSF HealthCare.
JLK was the lead Historic Preservation Architect and the Historic Tax Credit Consultant for the project. JLK conducted archival research, reviewed historic documentation, and surveyed and documented existing historic materials, finishes, and features throughout the building. JLK prepared a building preservation plan to detail this information and guide the project. Historic preservation architects and architectural historians at JLK coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and guided the project team in conforming with the Secretary of the Interior’s Rehabilitation Treatment Standards.
The project utilized federal and state historic tax credits to rehabilitate the building. JLK completed all tax credit documentation and managed consultation with the SHPO and National Park Service.
Opened in 1905, the Schipper and Block department store building was Peoria’s first steel-framed structure. The seven-story building is clad with white-glazed terra cotta that led to local’s calling it “The Big White Store.” Ownership of the building changed several times throughout the twentieth century, but the building remained a thriving department store until the mid-1970s. Several banks occupied the building through 2015 when it was sold to Caterpillar. Initial plans for demolition fell through and the building remained vacant and deteriorating until OSF HealthCare aquired it in 2018 with the intent to invest in downtown Peoria and return the building back to its former glory. Today, the 275,865-square-foot rehabilitated space can accomodate nearly 750 employees.
2023
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award
National Trust for Historic Preservation
2023
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award
Landmarks Illinois
2022
Silver Award – Existing Building/Mixed Use
Association of Licensed Architects
2022
Restoration Award
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Prairie Chapter
2022
Award of Merit – Best Renovation/Retrofit/Preservation Project
Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI)
2022
Award of Merit – Health Care
ENR Midwest
