Champaign City Council to vote on $12 million grant to fund downtown plaza
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The City of Champaign is set to accept a $12 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to build a plaza along Neil Street.
According to an agenda published online, the Champaign City Council is expected to vote to approve the measure at their meeting Tuesday night.
The grant is for the second phase of reconstruction along Neil Street in downtown. The Hill and Neil intersection will be reconstructed to be a speed table.
Map-Neil-Street-plaza-1Download
The city would transform a surface level parking lot located at the intersection of Neil and Washington Streets into a plaza. Proposed amenities for the include a pop jet fountain, kiosks for local retailers and a public lawn.
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The lot south of the Orpheum Theatre will also add art, seating, shade structures and plants.
Rendering Map Neil Street PlazaDownload
The city will hold a study session later this summer before finalizing the design.
“What could we do in this space that would attract you here, that would bring you here and help you feel welcome and comfortable? Through that process, we identified the community,” Senior Planner Lacey Rains Lowe said, “identified lots of ways that they’d like to use the space from simply, ‘I just want a place to be. I want a place to enjoy some shade and some music and the vibrancy of downtown.'”
City officials estimate construction would start in 2026 and hope to be complete by 2027.
The full resolution can be found here.
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