PEORIA, Ill. — Visitors to the 30th annual Greater Peoria Farm Show will notice a looming new presence downtown – in the form of the $200 million Peoria Riverfront Museum (PRM) and Caterpillar Visitors Center under construction. The development is one of the largest in Peoria’s history and combines public and private funding.

The $140 million museum is being funded by taxpayers who approved the project in 2009 through a referendum vote and by private donations, and the $52 million Caterpillar Experience Visitors Center is being paid for by CAT, which maintains its world headquarters in the shadow of the construction project.

“We want to thank everyone who voted for this project, those who have donated generously and the thousands of people who have shared their time, talents and ideas to make the museum possible,” said David Ransburg, PRM chair and former Peoria mayor.

Ransburg also lauded Caterpillar, Inc., the Peoria County Board, Peoria City Council and Lakeview Museum of Peoria for their roles in bringing the museum to fruition.

“We’re very excited. The PRM and Caterpillar Experience will be one of the biggest – if not the biggest – projects developed in Peoria,” added Ryan Beasley, PRM vice chair. “It will provide great energy to downtown Peoria, increase tourism and complement the offerings of the Peoria Civic Center.”

The museum is expected to generate up to 350,000 yearly visitors and provide a regional economic impact of $7 million-$14 million per year. More than 80,000 square feet of display space will house exhibits, such as: an International Features Gallery for traveling exhibits including those from the Smithsonian Institution, a PowerDome digital Planetarium, a giant screen digital theater, the Illinois River Encounter, the Illinois High School Assoc. Peak Performance Center, “The Street,” a dramatic gallery of changing exhibits chronicling more than 300 years of Peoria’s history, two Discovery World galleries and fine arts and folk art galleries.

After initially announcing the museum would feature an IMAX digital theater, negotiations with the company were suspended and PRM officials entered into an agreement with international immersive theater specialist Global Immersion to provide the museum’s giant-screen digital theater.

“Our decision was guided by defined criteria and we’re confident the Global Immersion is the right partner,” said Beasley. “It’s all about creating an environment that will deliver an incredible immersive theater experience. We’ll have the most innovative technology available, access to a broad film library and the flexibility to control the content we deliver.”

The Caterpillar Experience will provide visitors with a time capsule of Caterpillar’s central Illinois history, worldwide impact, current products and more, through several interactive exhibits housed in a three-story, 50,000 square-foot structure. Caterpillar has a long history of producing tractors for agricultural uses; Benjiman Holt and Daniel Best were both tinkering with track-type, steam-powered tractors for farming before the pair merged their fledgling businesses in 1925 to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co.

Area residents and PRM officials have been anxiously monitoring the progress of the “museum block” since ground was broken in April 2010. “We’re less than a year away from opening, and you can really see the facility starting to take shape downtown,” said Jim Richerson, president and CEO of the PRM.

At press time, the museum building and surrounding site were around 35 percent completed, while street improvements and deep utilities were 100 percent completed.

The underground parking deck was nearly completed, according to Turner Construction, the PRM’s project management company – making the total museum project just under 50 percent finished.

On Nov. 4, the PRM named Jerry Croegaert vice president of operations, rounding out the museum’s leadership. Croegaert brings more than 25 years of experience in facility maintenance, personnel management, budget creation and resource allocation to the PRM project.

“This is an incredible facility and will have a tremendous impact on the community,” said Croegaert.

“I’m excited to be such a big part of Peoria history, and for the opportunity to be part of something that will touch so many lives.”

PRM partners include the Peoria Historical Society, African American Hall of Fame Museum, Peoria Regional Museum Society and the Heartland Foundation.

For details on the museum project, visit www.peoriariverfrontmuseum.org

The museum is scheduled to open to the public on Oct. 20, 2012. PRM officials welcome Midwest farmers to Peoria and the 30th Greater Peoria Farm Show, and urge them to make plans to visit the museum while in town for next year’s show.