$12 million awarded for Phase 2 of Champaign's Neil Street plaza

Jana Wiersema, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·3 min read

May 21—CHAMPAIGN — The city of Champaign has secured a grant that will fund a substantial portion of an $18.2 million project that has been in the works for several years.

The city has been awarded a $12 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for Phase 2 of the downtown plaza project. The city council will consider a resolution to accept the grant at its 7 p.m. meeting today.

"The grant will fund construction of the full Downtown Plaza, including partial reconstruction of the portions of Neil and Washington Streets adjacent to the project," associate planner Daniel Saphiere wrote in a report.

The council previously voted in February to accept a $500,000 grant from the DCEO for Phase 1 of the project, which is expected to get underway this summer and be complete sometime in 2025.

Phase 1 will redesign and "modestly expand" the One Main Plaza and include the addition of a stage, Saphiere wrote.

"Phase 2 is much larger in scope, encompassing the parking lot at the southeast corner of Neil and Washington, the lot south of the Orpheum Theater, and a partial reconstruction of adjacent streets," he said.

According to Saphiere, preliminary design is underway for this phase, which includes:

* Converting the surface parking lot at Neil and Washington into a public plaza with landscaping, seating, two business kiosks, a public lawn, bicycle parking, a pop jet fountain and "nature play structures" for children.

A "single southbound shared vehicle/pedestrian lane along building fronts on the historic Hickory Street Right of Way" that will provide access for cars from Washington Street. The lane will be curbless, with ADA accessible parking and bollards to prevent vehicles from entering the main plaza. Additionally, access to the lane will be controlled, "so the entire space could close to automobile traffic."

* Turning the lot south of the Orpheum into a plaza entrance that will also provide access to the public parking lot on Fremont Street and the public lot at Walnut and Washington. This pedestrian entrance will include art, shade structures, seating and plantings.

* Partial reconstruction of streets adjacent to the plaza, including additional parking on Washington and Neil and a raised intersection or speed table at Hill and Neil.

Construction on Phase 2 is estimated to begin in 2026, with a tentative completion date in 2027.

Saphiere said that the total project cost across both phases is estimated at a little over $18.2 million, with most of this being funded through the two DCEO grants. The city also plans to allocate $2.7 million from the Downtown Fringe TIF and transfer $3 million from the General Fund to the Capital Improvement Fund.

The plaza project has been in the works for some time. According to Champaign officials, the city council approved a downtown plan in 2006 that included a recommendation to create a public plaza at the southeast corner of Neil and Washington.

The project officially began in 2017, and the council adopted the Neil Street Plaza Placemaking Plan in 2019 after two years of planning and input.

"A study session will be scheduled in the summer of 2024 to overview the Downtown Plaza project so city council and the public may provide comment," Saphiere said. "Further study sessions will be scheduled to gather further input on design elements and to provide construction updates."

For more information about the project, go to .