Illinois Valley PADS places sole bid on Canal Street lot, moves closer to new facility plan

The first step for Illinois Valley Public Action to Deliver Shelter owning its 1120 Canal St. property is complete now that the city of Ottawa has placed its $100 bid on file.

PADS placed the sole bid for the property with the intention of demolishing the current building to create a more suitable space for its mission. A proposal to build on property on McKinley Road, on Ottawa’s South Side, was rejected in January after concerns were raised by the public and Ottawa police, but the Ottawa City Council and members of the Plan Commission vowed to help PADS find a new location to build.

As it turns out, their location ended up being more suitable than first thought.

Ottawa Mayor Dan Aussem said while the city just placed the bid on file for now, he doesn’t see any hang ups when commissioners vote to make it official in two weeks.

“By June, they should be able to take possession and then make their plan,” Aussem said. “I don’t know what they have for resources or if they need to fund raise to raise the capital to move forward with building, but we’re not involved in that process.”

Aussem said there has been informal talks among city officials to demolish the current building at the PADS site, since it’s within its purview because it resides within the Canal TIF district.

“It’s a very old wood-constructed building that needs to be taken down,” Aussem said. “So, part of our thought is that when it comes down to the transfer, we’ll tear down and grade the land to get it ready for construction.”

PADS has been renting the property from the city since the mid-1990s.