Just thought it was odd that the next best city to Chicago in Illinois (IMHO) doesnt have a development thread. And I thought that NO thread existed for any smaller town in Illinois was odd. And agruably Champaign-Urbana has done quite well for itself of late and I thought it would be nice to have a thread about it.

I was just down there this past weekend and the cities look great.
And I just want a place to keep track of development there and whats going on at my old college.:cheers::cheers:

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2010-10-20/normal-decision-has-no-effect-champaign-project.html

an excerpt.

BankChampaign has already moved into space on the first floor, but the long-touted Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works, which would occupy the anchor space at Church and Neil streets, has yet to open.

"Destihl has already started construction," said Sokolski, the chief executive officer of One Main Development. "They wanted to get it done in three to four months."

^^ Some more information on the project:

http://www.downtownchampaign.com/M2onNeil_-_Day_small.jpg

According to local legend and news releases from M2, this is the largest construction project to be undertaken in downtown Champaign.

The development will feature the following:

9 Total Stories
1st Floor is all retail, approx 70% leased
4 floors of office space, approx 40% leased
Top 4 floors are residential condos, 25% pre-sold
Price Ranges from the $170’s to $428k
Sizes vary from 680sqft to 1900sqft
The condo fees for a 2br unit are expected to run around $360/month and include heat/AC/water/sewer/trash/building insurance and more. (Residents will have to pay for the electricity to run the heat pump which circulates the cool/warm air but that is a fraction of normal heating and cooling costs
Parking…. There are no parking spaces being sold or reserved with the condos however the City of Champaign is building a large parking garage in an adjoining structure. 24/7 permits are available and it sounds like availability will NOT be an issue for residents.
Click for City of Champaign Parking Deck info.

The developers have leases with the following companies that plan to occupy the 1st Floor and more on the way

Destihl Brew Works

An Unidentified Salon/Spa occupying a large portion of the space (approx 11,000sqft over 2 floors). The exact identity wasn’t disclosed at the meeting…

BankChampaign

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/2659181801_5c792b0339.jpg?v=0
Photo By ajpresto714

Urbana Park District officials are proposing an outdoor swimming pool with a "sprayground" and two smaller pools that would cost up to $7 million and would be located on the site of the old Crystal Lake Pool in north Urbana.


The water surface area would be about 14,600 square feet – larger than the old Crystal Lake Pool (about 12,000 square feet). That pool, the second on the same site, was closed in the summer of 2008 after engineers discovered significant safety problems. The original Crystal Lake Pool opened in 1927.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/parks-and-recreation/2010-10-20/urbana-seeks-comments-proposed-replacement-crystal-lake-pool.ht

I remember when Japan House was on California....
http://www.dailyillini.com/news/campus/2010/10/03/japan-house-hosts-its-founder
I didnt get a chance to see the new one, but it looks cool.

excerpt.....

Japan House was originally founded in 1975 on the corner of Lincoln and California Streets.

Sato converted an 80-year-old Victorian house which was then owned by the University.

The construction of the current Japan House was completed in 1998. Today, the Japan House hosts a variety of cultural activities along with a few classes on Japanese culture that University students can take. These classes are instructed by Kimiko Gunji, director and professor of Japan House.

“Students can learn about the culture, especially my heritage, to warm their perspective,” Gunji said.

Classes include Chado: The Way of Tea, and Ikebana: Japanese Floral Arts. These can be taken through the School of Art and Design.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-10-09/landmark-designation-lincoln-hotel-back-urbana-councils-agen

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-10-12/decision-lincoln-hotel-postponed-until-december.html

Decision on Lincoln Hotel postponed until December
Tue, 10/12/2010 - 7:00am | Patrick Wade
URBANA – The city council for the second time delayed a decision on whether designate the Lincoln Hotel in downtown Urbana a historic landmark, this time until December.

Within the past month, the bank has lowered the asking price for the hotel from $1.1 million to $895,000, said Dan Lanterman, an attorney for the bank.

Delaying a decision until Dec. 13 will give the bank more time to court would-be buyers, Lanterman said.

http://commercial-news.com/local/x1744209959/Study-recommends-moving-VA-acute-medical-surgical-unit

DANVILLE — An independent study recommends moving the acute medical/surgical unit at the Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System west to Champaign-Urbana.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2010-10-22/urbana-may-commit-15-million-toward-lincoln-hotel-renovation.html

OOPS sorry 1.5 million,
15 would be ridiculous....

excerpt...

The owners of the historic Lincoln Hotel seem to be moving toward an agreement with a potential buyer, and the city has proposed committing nearly $1.5 million in special funds over five years toward the hotel's renovation.

A draft agreement disclosed Thursday between the city and the potential buyer, Xiao Jin Yuan, details how that money would be disbursed and would commit Yuan to a "complete renovation of the 128-room hotel and conference center to allow for modern hotel amenities while honoring the historic character of the property."


Yuan owns a Hampton Inn in Crescent City, Calif., according to a city memo. He has told city officials he will retain ownership of that California hotel but plans to relocate his family to oversee the renovation and operation of the Lincoln Hotel.

Group seeks new UI mascot, will rally against Chief

Fri, 10/22/2010 - 10:51am | Julie Wurth
CHAMPAIGN — A student group is calling on the University of Illinois to speed up the process of choosing a new mascot to put the Chief Illiniwek debate to rest.

Student for a United Campus said it would rally outside the Swanlund Administration Building at noon today to pressure administrators to find a replacement for the retired UI symbol and to stop a pro-Chief group from staging a re-enactment this weekend.

The group said it wants to hold the administration accountable for not "properly" retiring the Chief and therefore enhancing an "atmosphere of racial tension and division" on campus.

The group also plans to rally outside the annual "Next Dance" event Saturday evening at the Assembly Hall, where Students for Chief Illiniwek will again re-enact the Chief’s dance at 6 p.m. The Chief was retired as the UI’s symbol in 2007.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/university-illinois/2010-10-22/group-seeks-new-ui-mascot-will-rally-against-chief.html

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/university-illinois/2010-10-23/making-pizzas-through-thick-and-thin-papa-dels-turns-40.html

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2010-10-23/prospective-owner-lincoln-hotel-believes-it-will-succeed.html

Big Broadband project, a fiber-optic broadband Internet project entailing a $22.5 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

So far, the environmental assessment, which is required of all federally-funded projects, is complete with no finding of significant impact.

Currently, engineering firm selection is in progress for a group to review the backbone design and to design backbone rings and fiber to the curb. Smeltzer said he aims for approval by Nov. 18 by the University Board of Trustees.

Construction will be bid in three packages: Urbana, Champaign and the University area.

Because this project is one of the few “Fiber to the Premise” projects funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, making it somewhat of a test case, it is receiving extra attention from the federal government and also from industry groups.

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/champaign-urbana/2010/10/26/lincoln-hotel-property-in-urbana-may-be-bought

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2010-10-26/after-delays-brewpub-ready-begin-work-champaign.html

http://www.news-gazette.com/multimedia/photogallery/2010-10-17/lodge-hill-luxury-apartment-homes-0

Super Fancy place at Hill and Randolph in Champaign

Old Masonic Temple in Champaign
was turned into luxury apts,
it was bought in 2008, just trying to catch up
on recent developments in Champaign

http://www.lodgeonhill.com/jeffersonhistory1.pdf

One thing that is missing from champaign-urbana,
there is no Google Maps streetview.
Very Odd, Ive seen much more obscure
towns with google maps streetview,
one would think such a hotbed of techy stuff
would have a streetview set up.
Would be a good project to hire someone to do.
Or is that volunteer work?

I believe Google funds the streetview picture gathering process. Google is constantly updating new locations, and I can't imagine this major college town full of young potential customers can be too far behind.

http://www.sys-con.com/node/1590615
One million bucks in upgrades from company
that acquired it in 2008.

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/champaign-urbana/2010/10/14/ui-s-historic-mumford-house-undergoes-stabilization


“We’re keeping the house to its period of significance, which the National Register says was 1870-1880,” Skvarla said. “So if we were to keep the house to that period, the natural things to do were to remove the very inappropriate west addition and to remove the south addition.”

“It’s not really a renovation, it’s a stabilization,” Skvarla said. “We are weatherproofing, weatherizing the remaining portion of the house that’s there to prevent future deterioration of it. We intend to mothball it, in a sense, for later on when there would be a large fundraising effort to do the major restoration work.”

For purists in historic preservation, it is the oldest extant building on our campus, having been built in 1870 by a University carpenter,” Skvarla said.

“There is no known use for that house,”

http://www.dailyillini.com/media/00/00/01/71/17163_a4mumfordhousef.jpg

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-11-09/ui-will-try-agreement-foxatkins-develop-next-phase-research-

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-11-09/champaign-council-begins-work-long-term-plan-citys-developme

Excerpt from article

As city council members on Tuesday night reviewed a draft of the updated 20-year plan for the city, most realized that it is going to take a lot of cooperation with the private sector and other government agencies to make it happen.

City administrators have spent three years writing the comprehensive plan that will guide long-term city decisions regarding planning and development. City council members saw plans for redefined neighborhoods, in-fill development and growth areas on the fringe of the city

Mayor Jerry Schweighart said he was pleased with most of the goals of the plan, which include building "complete neighborhoods" with commercial amenities in proximity to residential lots and preserving the city's downtown, but it will require city partnerships with other groups.

That includes developers, too, he added. City planners will meet with stakeholders, including private developers, during the next couple months to gather further input, and a public hearing is expected to be held in January. The city council likely would adopt the document in February.

http://archive.ci.champaign.il.us/archive/dsweb/Get/Document-8779/SS%202010-065.pdf

http://www.hlplanning.com/dnn/champaign/Planning101brnbsp/tabid/557/Default.aspx

This site has good slide show on urban planning and etc.

http://www.dailyillini.com/features/science-technology/2010/09/20/local-b-b-s-host-worldly-guests-in-historic-houses

Bed and breakfasts in Urbana.
Too bad they arent on the select registry.
Maybe they should be? Dont know.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2010-11-12/urbana-nears-complete-control-block-development.html

Urbana nears complete control of block for development
Fri, 11/12/2010 - 8:00am | Patrick Wade

Photo by: Vanda Bidwell/ The News Gazette

Ron Esserine, Miller Enterprises, clears debris from one of the properties in the 200 block of South Vine Street. The city has bought up properties in the block.

URBANA – With a few empty footprints of homes left to fill in and one property to buy, the block just north of the City Building on Vine Street stands nearly ready for development.

But what will come of that block, city administrators still are not sure.

"I don't think there's anything major holding us back," economic development manager Tom Carrino said. "I just think that we want to make sure we work out everything that needs to be worked out."

For two years, the city has been buying properties on the east half of that block and eventually knocking them down. On the west half of the block is a city-owned parking lot and the Urbana Tire Co, which leases its building.

The Urbana Tire location is the only property on the block that the city does not hold. Officials have an option to buy the lot and are waiting for the company's lease to expire.

When that happens, the block will essentially be a blank canvas next to the city's downtown.

"At this point, the fact that the city controls it, we have considerable say on what would be built there," Carrino said.

That could be something like a mixed-use residential building, but a decision on what to ask for has yet to be made, he said. Because of its location, the site is a good spot for a development that would blend the commercial downtown to its west with the residential neighborhood to its east.

"I think that it's an attractive location in that it's very close to some major employment centers," Carrino said.

Don Fitzgerald, the CEO of Urbana Tire, said he has heard rumblings about what the plans are for his location, but nothing solid yet. In any case, he would rather not move.

"We'd like to stay there forever," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said he understands that "there's a jillion things" the city could do with that block. He has heard officials talking about buying up the properties for as long as 15 years.

But he said he would like to keep his location for at least the next 2 1/2 years that are left on the lease.

"Anything can happen at the end of the lease," Fitzgerald said.

It is not a typical project for the city, Carrino said. Usually, Urbana would not be "in the business of" preparing a site for redevelopment, but the opportunity was there.

Still, the block might sit mostly empty for a while before any ground is broken on a new project.

"There might not be a development project right away," Carrino said. "But I think the needs of the Urbana Tire Co. give us some time to work and find a good developer and put together a good project."

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2010-11-12/reports-say-ui-has-room-improvement-diversity.html

I work too much and dont follow sports like I used to,
But wow, didnt know about this, pretty cool!

http://www.dailyillini.com/blogs/touchdown-tidbits/2010/11/12/rooftop-tickets-on-sale-for-illinois-northwestern-game

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/parks-and-recreation/2010-11-16/marquee-comes-virginia.html


http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2010/11/16/20101116-164847-pic-877418306.jpg

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-11-19/champaign-neighborhood-celebrates-decades-history.html


http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2010/11/18/20101118-173712-pic-665741010.jpg

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/features/its-your-business/2010-11-21/its-your-business-mexican-restaurant-reopening-c


Pizza in Campustown

The building once home to Bar Louie, and before that, Panera, and well before that, Coslow's, a bar and casual restaurant, will once again be serving food and beer.

The Fire Station is moving into 510 E. John St., C, and owner Randy Fight anticipates an opening sometime in the next two or three months.

The regional chain of restaurants has locations in Peoria, East Peoria, Washington, Pekin, Quincy and Normal.

Those restaurants are all known as Firehouse Pizza, but because a nearby bar and grill already has a similar name – The Firehaus – the owners decided to change the name for the Champaign location.

One of the most recent restaurants to open is near the Illinois State University campus in Normal, and business has been good there, Fight said.



Also in Campustown...

A few doors down from The Fire Station, the noodle, sushi and cereal shop Doodles, which is tucked in Johnstowne Center, 502 E. John St., C, plans a grand opening on Dec. 1.

Owner Shai Mauth has had a soft opening for a little over a week now to test the hours and menu. We'll have more information about the to-go business next week.

http://bsminfo.com/download.mvc/University-Of-Illinois-Standardizes-With-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO

Description

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nestled within the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign, a joint community of about 180,000, the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system is the size of a small city. As such, it has dealt with everyday community issues like thefts on and around campus, including a string of stolen laptops inside the university's libraries, as well as other stolen items elsewhere on campus. With more than 400 main facilities on campus, the 55-member police department had a lot of ground to cover.

It's no surprise, then, that progressive public safety officials were looking for a way to provide real time, reliable security information to police while saving money, which meant somehow consolidating an unknown number of smaller, autonomous analog systems that dotted the campus. They implemented a gradual, three- to five-year deployment of roughly 4,500 cameras that would be managed in a central location using a single video management platform.

The playing space at Wrigley Field was a little too short for a football game, both teams were forced to cram onto one sideline and the bizarre, last second rule changes, in which offenses only scored in one end zone, gave the game national attention for all the wrong reasons.

But for Mikel Leshoure, Ron Zook and the rest of the Illini football teams, who beat Northwestern 48-27 on Saturday, everything worked out just perfectly.

After two weeks of struggle and maybe even a little doubt as they stood at five wins, one away from bowl eligibility, the Illini finally came through in a big way.

“I think it was something they'll remember the rest of their lives,” Illini head coach Ron Zook said. “I'm happy with the way we played and happy with the way we came out and attacked this game. We had a couple lumps from the last couple weeks, and these guys, particularly (Leshoure), they did a great job.”

In the first football game at Wrigley Field in 40 years, Leshoure’s standout performance was one for the history books as the running back racked up an Illini-record 330 yards and two touchdowns.

“Going into the game, we knew what type of atmosphere we were going to be in,” Leshoure said. “Just to do it in front of millions of people on national TV is a good feeling.”

Illinois' Mikel Leshoure (5) carries the ball during the game at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010. Leshoure set the school record with 330 yards on the ground.
Ned Mulka The Daily Illini

Related Audio

Illini finally get sixth win on grand stage Also See
Live from Wrigley Field:

Illini Football vs. Northwestern It didn’t take long to realize Leshoure’s performance would end up a special one. Within ten minutes, he broke off three runs of at least 30 yards to bring his total to 147, scoring twice to lead the Illini to a 21-7 first-quarter lead.

The Wildcats didn’t go away, though, with freshman running back Mike Trumpy breaking off an 80-yard run of his own for a touchdown in the first quarter. Watkins then scored another in the second quarter after redshirt freshman quarterback Evan Watkins, who started the game a week after Dan Persa’s season-ending Achilles injury, drove Northwestern down the field.

But after two straight weeks of falling flat, the Illini defense came up big in the second half as they shut out the Wildcats for the rest of the game.

“I’m disappointed in our inability to stop the run and get off the field on third down,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got to decide what kind of team we want to be.”

While the Northwestern offense sputtered, Leshoure, Jason Ford and the Illini running game kept going. Leshoure ran for 114 more yards and Jason Ford added 68 and two of his three touchdowns, and the Illini ran up the score while only attempting 14 passes on the day, completing six for 40 yards.

After two years of sitting at home in late December, the Illini were bowl eligible at last.

“It’s a great feeling because … I get to go to a bowl game,” said junior defensive tackle Corey Liuget, who hasn’t been bowl eligible during his Illini career. “It’s a great feeling for me and it’s a great experience getting that win here.”

And getting such a significant win against Northwestern, their instate rival, didn’t hurt either.

Northwestern recently branded itself “Chicago’s Big Ten Team” in an advertising campaign earlier this year and adorned Wrigley with purple flags, purple endzones, and even painted the iconic marquee purple.

Playing in front of a crowd that was about two-thirds purple, with orange-clad fans sprinkled throughout, it was clear that the Illini wanted to show that this was their turf.

“We wanted to prove that Illinois is the football team of Chicago, it's the football team of the state, and we're excited about proving it,” quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase said. “We walked in and saw all the purple everywhere (Friday). We saw all that and we took it to heart. We thought about it all night, thought about it all morning and we came out here and were ready to go."

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/champaign-urbana/2010/11/19/second-phase-of-boneyard-creek-project-nears-completion

Construction on the Boneyard Creek detention project is moving along as work on phase two of the plan, along Second Street from Springfield Avenue to University Avenue, wraps up.

The Scott Park phase one improvements were completed in 2009; work on the second phase began in mid-August of 2009, said John Peisker, vice president of O’Neil Brothers Construction.

Peisker said work has been on schedule, on budget and expected to be done by the end of the year.

According to the city of Champaign website, the project’s goals are to grant 100-year flood protection, revitalize the surrounding neighborhood, turn the Boneyard into a place of recreation and connect Campustown and downtown Champaign.

Rendering Courtesy of Eleanor Blackmon

Louis Braghini, resident engineer of the Boneyard Creek project, said this is both the culmination and continuation of an idea that originated back in 1996. He added that the project’s history goes even further, dating back to the 1930s and ‘40s when no one could solve the constant flooding problems of the surrounding area, including Campustown.

“We would see flooding on Green Street almost annually,” Braghini said.

Gary Baumont, a resident of Champaign for over 40 years, said he was not personally affected by these damaging floods but recalled a friend of his who often suffered damage from the floods.

“I have an acquaintance who owns a business in Campustown and pretty much when it flooded it ruined his freezers and food storage in the basement and ruin all his inventory,” Baumont said. “It was pretty expensive for him.”

Peisker said the $11 million project will feature two detention basins north and south of White Street, two retaining walls on each of the basins, two waterfall features and the addition of sidewalks around and across the watershed. Other improvements include restructured parking on Second and Clark streets, lighting around the basins and paths and amenities such as seating, trash receptacles and drinking fountains. The Stone Arch Bridge will also connect to this part of the Boneyard Creek.

Braghini added that the landscaping will not be complete until after the winter season.

Baumont said the development looks promising and hopes that this project will have a positive impact on both the surrounding area and the residents.

“I’ve been walking past here for several weeks watching the progress. My overall reaction is it looks really nice,” Baumont said. “The project looks big enough to stop any future flooding.”

Deleted article,
I deemed it too boring
and inconsequential

http://www.dailyillini.com/sports/2010/11/22/wrigley-rules-prove-no-problem-for-illini

Playing a football game at a baseball field definitely wasn’t without its quirks.

There were cramped locker rooms, a halftime switch of a shared sideline, and, of course, only one direction for both offenses.

But for Illinois head coach Ron Zook, none of the irregularities took away from the experience during the Illini’s 48-27 win against Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Saturday.

“Absolutely I’d like to do it again,” Zook said.

Just a day before the game, the Big Ten announced that for the safety of the players, there would be a few rule changes for the game. Most notably, all kickoffs were directed toward the east end zone, while both offenses would play toward the west end zone the whole game.

The changes came after the east end zone fell into scrutiny because of the limited space between the end zone line and the right field brick wall.

“I really don’t think it changed the game,” Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald said about the rule changes. “It didn’t feel like it.”

The team was able to check out the east end zone and the padding on the wall during the team’s walkthrough on Friday night, as well as before Saturday’s game.

“If you go down and feel the padding, there’s so much padding that I doubt that there would be a huge issue with safety,” Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase said.

Due to restrictions stemming from the size of the field, both teams had to share the north sideline. The teams switched sides at halftime to ensure that each team had a half of being near the west end zone.

“It was harder to see, and when you get into making decisions, on whether to go for it on third down or fourth down, you rely on strictly on what (offensive coordinator Paul Petrino) says and the guys in the box,” Zook said. “Those kinds of things were different, but the way things worked out, we enjoyed it. I don’t think you’ll see a lot of it in the Big Ten, but for one game, I thought it was a great thing.”

The team prepared for the difficulty of having an entire team on half of a sideline, especially when it comes to substitutions.

“We worked all week about how there are 70 guys on the sideline, and we needed everybody to cooperate,” Zook said. “When the offense was up, the defense had to stay out of the way, and when the defense was up, the offense had to stay out of the way. We did a good job of that.”

Illinois players credited the coaches with getting them prepared with having to deal with the hectic nature of the sidelines, with some even surprised with how much room there actually was.

“Actually, it was roomy,” Illinois linebacker Martez Wilson said. “There was nice depth. People could move around, and there was no confusion with us switching sides.”

That was more than it could be said for the locker room, where only offensive linemen received individual lockers.

“That was very tight in there, especially with those big linemen,” running back Mikel Leshoure said.

But, just like their coach, the players would look forward to a similar experience in the future.

“I would do it again, a thousand times over,” Scheelhaase said. “It was a great stadium, a great everything. And obviously, getting the win, that always helps the situation."


http://www.dailyillini.com/media/00/00/01/75/17504_wrigley2f.jpg

Mohammed, do you have any pictures of these developements or recently completed developements in C-U? Many people in this forum (including myself) have not seen the city besides just driving through on the freeway, and I would love to see what it has to offer.

^^^^ Unfortunately no.

I was hoping someone from down there would maybe join on and post some.
It is a very cool town, and has potential to be even better.
Both downtowns are doing well. I think Champaign is a little further along than Urbanas.
But the fixing of the Lincoln Hotel in Downtown Urbana will help a whole lot.
Ofcourse the mall right there needs to be fixed up as well.

Some of the news articles have pictures.....
I am surprised that there wasnt a champaign urbana thread earlier.

So youve driven through without stopping?
You should definitely stop to check the town out.
Both downtown areas are cool and there is enough around to check out
besides just campustown.

Roger Ebert has a film festival every year
about all the overlooked films.

Its really the best town IMHO in Illinois that isnt in the Chicago area.

I myself want to learn more about the area and
keeping this thread going allows me to do that

http://www.smilepolitely.com/music/bob_dylan_said_champaign_illinois_twice_3737/

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2010-11-28/former-flower-shop-building-gets-face-lift.html

Former flower shop building gets face-liftSun, 11/28/2010 - 8:10am | Christine Des Garennes


Photo by: John Dixon/The News-Gazette

Weiss Lancaster stands among studs stripped bare of wall covering on the third floor of the old Ginza flower shop in Champaign. Lancaster is redeveloping the building into commercial space and apartments.

CHAMPAIGN – A nearly 110-year-old building on University Avenue is undergoing a major renovation this winter.

Long home to the Ginza flower shop and Asian market, and before that a hotel, the three-story brick building at 315 E. University Ave. will be remodeled into commercial space on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floors.

Weiss Lancaster, whose company The Electrum Group leases apartments in Champaign-Urbana, purchased the building this fall because of its high visibility along the University Avenue corridor, its proximity to the University of Illinois engineering campus and the County Market grocery store a few blocks south of the building.

Lancaster also found the red-brick and limestone building "architecturally interesting," he said. While removing the ceiling in what used to be the flower shop, workers uncovered several more feet of ceiling height and original tin ceiling tiles. Those tiles will be removed and sandblasted to remove the old paint.

"We were fortunate to find the original tin ceiling. ... It's beautiful," Lancaster said.

The building project has been dubbed "Near North at Fourth."
Lancaster is seeking local landmark designation for the building from Champaign's Historic Preservation Commission. The commission will review the application Thursday, Dec. 2.

A Champaign native who grew up in a Victorian house overlooking West Side Park, Lancaster said many locals have memories of buying bouquets at the Ginza flower shop or shopping for fish, rice, spices and other foods when it was an international grocery store. The Ryckman family ran the food store and floral shop from the mid-1970s through the late 1980s, when the focus shifted solely to flowers. The flower shop closed in early 2009.

The building, believed to date back to 1901, was initially a sanitarium run by Dr. Henry Haley and was later converted to a hotel, Lancaster said. It was called the Hotel Walker as well as the Ford Hotel. Throughout its over 100 years, the building has been a rooming house, bakery, pennant factory, tire shop and more, according to the landmark application.

Lancaster purchased the building in September for about $210,000, according to county records. He expects to spend about $800,000 to $900,000 to renovate it.

"It clearly needed a lot of work," he said.

Lancaster sold one of his other apartment buildings, a 40-unit building on Stoughton Street in Champaign, to help pay for the project. He's also receiving funding from First BancTrust and has applied with the city of Champaign for a $100,000 redevelopment improvement grant. That money, funded by the East University Avenue Tax Improvement Financing District, will help pay for structural improvements made to the property.

The Champaign City Council will likely review the application after the first of the year, according to city planner T.J. Blakeman.

"It's a neat building," Blakeman said. While it was for sale, city officials were hoping the property would eventually be renovated instead of torn down.

"When it's done, with the work we did to clean up the intersection, I think this will be a great reuse project right on University (Avenue). There's great retail space on the corner," he said. Last year the city completed a streetscaping project to update the lighting, plant trees and install new sidewalks along University Avenue.

Before demolition began a few weeks ago, Lancaster worked with the Preservation and Conservation Association of Champaign County to salvage some of the items from the building. His staff also recently removed the exterior paint by spraying high-pressurized hot water.

The building will have some "green" features such as a white roof to reflect sunlight, high-efficiency heating and air conditioning units, Energy Star appliances and bamboo flooring.

The first floor, about 2,500 square feet facing University Avenue and Fourth Street, can accommodate retail, restaurant or offices as well as a possible apartment to the rear of the building, according to Lancaster. Some potential businesses have expressed an interest in the first-floor space, but no tenants have signed for it yet.

One of the apartments on the second and third floor has been rented.

Each apartment – they're all two bedrooms – will be about 600 to 700 square feet in size. Features include stainless steel appliances and casement windows.

"They're not going to be cookie-cutter apartments," Lancaster said.

Each one will be furnished and rent for $998 a month, including some utilities, he said. The apartments will be available for lease beginning early this fall.

Lancaster's company, The Electrum Group, began in 1991. It manages a variety of houses and apartment buildings near campus.



(Oops, its Near North at Forth Project)

In case you guys didnt find this under the chicago section

Someone took pics of Illini at Wrigely Field

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1264515

No more waiting for the biopsy
December 1st, 2010 3:36 pm CTDo you like this story?
Cancers more visible through U. of Illinois high tech

http://www.examiner.com/women-s-health-in-chicago/no-more-waiting-for-the-biopsy


With a University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) research team, a physician and electrical, computer, and bioengineer named Dr. Stephen A. Boppart has developed a new laser-light technique that quickly and accurately locates and maps cancer cells. Dr. Boppart is affiliated with the university's Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

The revolutionary microscopic technique has been in development since 2003. It has now been used to produce easy-to-read, color-coded images of breast-cancer cells and tissues in experimental animals in less than five minutes. These images show clear tumor boundaries, with a confidence score of better than 99%. The discovery is today's cover story (December 1) in the journal Cancer Research. The National Cancer Institute of the U.S. National Institutes of Health sponsored the study.


"This is what we call the gold standard for diagnosis. We want to make the process of medical diagnostics more quantitative and more rapid," said Dr. Boppart, as quoted by Science News.

In addition to a long waiting period for test results, previous diagnostic methods have been based on visual interpretations of cell shape and structure. They are thus very subjective. Using a small sample of tissue from a patient, stained to make cells easier to see, a pathologist looks at the sample under a microscope and notes anything unusual in the cells. He/she then consults other pathologists to confirm the diagnosis.

The new technique, nonlinear interferometric vibrational imaging (NIVI), is a step up from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It reveals cancer based on the molecular composition of cells. Abnormally high protein concentrations indicate cancerous cells; normal cells have more lipids. The method uses twin light beams, enhanced molecular resonance, and statistical analysis to locate and precisely map cancer tissues.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2010-12-03/work-urbana-athletic-fields-start-month.html

Work on Urbana athletic fields to start this monthFri, 12/03/2010 - 7:52am | Jodi Heckel

URBANA – Demolition work is scheduled to begin later this month at Urbana High School's football stadium, the first step in renovating its athletic fields into a state-of-the-art complex.

The $4.27 million project is part of $17.5 million in facilities improvements approved earlier this fall, to be paid for with the 1-cent school facility sales tax. The Urbana school board is to vote on a $32,900 bid for the demolition phase of the work when it meets Tuesday.

Demolition is scheduled to begin Dec. 17, said facilities director Ota Dossett. It will include taking out the bleachers, concession stand, storage building, and all the field lighting, electrical panels and mechanical systems.

The renovation of the academic/athletic complex will include a new track and new synthetic turf for the football and soccer fields.

"It really addresses the use of the space," Dossett said of the new turf. "PE (classes) can be on it, the band can be on it, and immediately after, (the) football (team) can be on it."

The natural turf gets too torn up from other activities to allow multiple uses during football or soccer season, Dossett said. The synthetic turf "is a lot more forgiving of activity. It really dramatically improves use of the space, and upgrades the entire facility."

The new football turf will be marked for soccer as well, and the track will be reconfigured to allow the dimension of a soccer field to fit on the football field. That will provide more than one field for soccer games and allow Urbana to host soccer tournaments, Dossett said.

The improvements to the complex also include new bleachers with storage underneath, a new concession stand, and a new main entrance off Michigan Avenue with an arched gateway and "walk of fame." There will be new scoreboards and energy-efficient lighting. Dossett said the district is applying for grants to help pay for the lighting.

......

The district will take bids on the next phase of work in February and that work should begin as soon as weather permits in the spring. Work on the soccer field won't begin until after the spring soccer season. All the renovations are scheduled to be finished by August 2011.

I know its not Champaign but its in a neigboring town
and its in the Champaign News Gazette, Cool looking old Jail....


http://www.news-gazette.com/image/2010-12-05/20101203-163336-pic-788834856jpg.html

Group offers options to preserve old Ford County jail
Sun, 12/05/2010 - 9:00am | Will Brumleve

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-12-05/group-offers-options-preserve-old-ford-county-jail.html

The structure that once housed the Ford County Jail.

PAXTON – The president of a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving Paxton's past wants to meet again with Ford County Board members to discuss options to save – and use – the historic building that once housed the state's oldest operating jail.

Leasing or even buying the nearly 140-year-old building from the county should be explored to save it from being razed, said Royce Baier, the president of the Paxton Foundation and a member of the Ford County Historical Society.

"I'm that interested, and I think the Ford County Historical Society would be that interested," Baier said.

The county board had recently considered, but has since backed away from, using the historic former sheriff's residence and jail to create space for the probation department's cramped offices in the basement of the courthouse.

Now, the board favors renovating the courthouse basement to create separate offices for the legally required "sight and sound separation" of juvenile and adult probation clients.

That option still leaves the old county-owned jail vacant, with the possibility of being demolished.

Baier said the Paxton Foundation or historical society would be interested in renting or buying the former jail to keep it from being torn down, and using it to bring money to the county through tourism. Possibilities include using it as a museum or even a bed-and-breakfast where patrons could sleep in jail cells once occupied by celebrities like 1970s funk musician Sly Stone.

"Three or four nonprofit groups" could combine efforts to make that happen, he said.

Baier's personal ideas for using the building include having the county use the second floor of the sheriff's residence for storage of documents and using the first floor of the sheriff's residence, as well as the back half of the building – which used to house the jail – for public tours or even overnight stays. The county might also use the first floor of the residence for county board meetings, he said.

The project could be similar to the one the Paxton Foundation and historical society did several years ago, renovating the historic water tower and pumphouse in downtown Paxton and turning the building into a museum, Baier said. He noted that in rural areas like Paxton, "there aren't that many things to save" that "show the commitment of our ancestors."

Both groups "would welcome the opportunity to meet with (the county board) at any time to discuss the future of the building," Baier said.

Due to the building's "unique" and "historically valuable" significance, if the county has to decide whether to demolish it, Baier said he feels such a decision should be left to all the residents of the county through a ballot question, not just "12 to 15 people" on the county board.

The county board will discuss the building's fate, said Chairman Rick Bowen of Elliott.

Bowen would not rule out the option of demolishing the structure, but he noted that it would be a last resort. Bowen said the county board plans to seek cost estimates to determine what can be done to expand the probation offices within the existing space in the basement of the courthouse.

Bowen said other options to solve the "sight and sound separation" issue are still being explored, as well, including expanding the basement of the courthouse through a building addition or constructing a new facility altogether.

"Through process of elimination we'll solve our courthouse problems," Bowen said. "If it fits and it's financially feasible it would be considered."

The work could be paid for using the estimated $1 million in proceeds from the sale of the county's nursing home a few years ago.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2010-12-07/champaign-extends-tax-district-12-years.html

Champaign extends tax district for 12 years

Tue, 12/07/2010 - 9:52pm | Patrick Wade

CHAMPAIGN – The city will spend another 12 years investing property tax dollars from a special taxing district into the East University Avenue and First Street corridors, which city officials have dubbed "Midtown."

The city council on Tuesday night voted 7-1 to give final approval to the extension of the 24-year-old East University Avenue tax increment financing district.

The district allows the city to use property tax revenue that otherwise would have gone to nine other taxing districts to invest in economic development incentives and infrastructure.

Council member Michael La Due said he has impressed by the success of the special taxing district in promoting development.

"Even now, in the midst of a recession, that success has been impressive," La Due said.

But Gordy Hulten, the only council member to vote against the extension on Tuesday, has said the district has a track record of not meeting the goals city officials have set for it.

The district "needs to be responsive to the market and not necessarily responsive to what we want the market to put there," Hulten said on Tuesday.

In other business, the council approved a 3 percent increase in the city's sanitary sewer fee, which officials expect to raise the yearly payment for an average home from about $69 to $71.

The fee hike is a response to increasing costs of maintaining the city's sewer lines while revenues to pay for that maintenance have not increased, finance director Richard Schnuer said.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/parks-and-recreation/2010-12-10/opening-set-month-boneyard-greenway.html

Opening set this month for Boneyard 'greenway'
Fri, 12/10/2010 - 7:58am | Patrick Wade

Photo by: Heather Coit/The News-Gazette

Workers with Feutz Contractors of Paris, Ill., set forms as they prepare to pour concrete near Clark and Second streets in Champaign on Thursday.

CHAMPAIGN – Trading the run-down houses and broken sidewalks of years ago for waterfalls, an amphitheater and a "promenade," city officials will open the Boneyard Creek Second Street basin to the public on Dec. 17.
People who visit the "greenway," as administrators are calling it until they give it an official name, might not be able to take full advantage of the park's features until spring, but city planners hope it can begin raising property values and stabilizing the business climate in the immediate area right away.

"We're already seeing properties changing hands and development looking at the area differently than they had before," said city planner T.J. Blakeman.

The Dec. 17 ribbon-cutting brings a conclusion to the two-year, $11 million project to build a two-block-long park that city officials hope becomes a centerpiece in the area where they are trying to encourage in-fill development.

Resident engineer Louis Braghini said the construction finished on budget and largely on time, with a bit of the work delayed by weather. He said some landscaping and sidewalk pouring will be left for next spring.

But the park's main features have been completed: a small amphitheater on the south end near Springfield Avenue, a rain garden on the north end near University Avenue and water features throughout.

The park began as a fancy way to rein in storm water and prevent flooding in Campustown – it's a detention basin at heart – but city officials hope it also acts as a walkable connection between campus and downtown Champaign.

The city hopes to push further storm water drainage improvements to the Boneyard Creek north of University Avenue in the future, but those plans are even beyond the 20-year capital improvements planning range.

Ron Haddix, whose Fiesta Cafe on First Street abuts the Boneyard Creek greenway, said he hopes the greenway will benefit his business.

"We're hoping it's going to increase the property values, we're hoping to get some business out of it," Haddix said.

The rear of Haddix's property used to be the site of many vacant single-family homes, most of which had been converted into apartments.

"With the city buying up the old houses and tearing them down, that alone has been a big help," Haddix said.

Before, no one saw the backside of Fiesta Cafe, Haddix said. The business is tight on cash right now, but he hopes to make some changes to "put a face on" the side of his business that will now be visible from the Boneyard Creek.

"We've got a porch here on the south side, and I'd like to extend it around the east side to face the park and put up some lights to make it a little more inviting," Haddix said.

Blakeman and city planners are hoping the same – entrances facing the creek and outdoor seating, maybe – happens with other First Street businesses adjacent to the greenway.

The city has some control over building design if an owner doing a renovation asks for money from a special city fund, and planners may consider adding more regulations to building design.

"It's the way the building interacts with the Boneyard and interacts with the street that's important to us," Blakeman said.

They hope the park will help the East University Avenue and First Street corridors – or "Midtown," as it has been dubbed by city officials – gather momentum and help encourage redevelopment. The city council on Dec. 7 approved a 12-year extension of a special taxing district in that area that provides the city more funds to invest in economic incentives and infrastructure.

Council member Gordy Hulten, the only representative to vote against that extension, said he worries a compromise the city made with nine other taxing bodies will hurt the city's ability to affect Midtown. City officials worked out the compromise to garner support among the other taxing bodies for the extension, as the special taxing district diverts to the city property taxes that otherwise would have gone to the other agencies.

Ultimately, the compromise means that the reinvestment fund will see no new revenue next year.

"Whatever advantage the (tax increment financing) district could have taken is lost," Hulten said of the momentum generated by the greenway's opening.

Blakeman said there should be enough carryover money from this year to help get the city through next year.

Whatever the case, the $11 million greenway is a stretch from what those two city blocks used to look like, Blakeman said.

"There was a garage that was actually half falling into the Boneyard Creek," he said.

Nothing new, just saw an ad for this crazy
88 west complex. Didnt know about it.
It is interesting because you can just rent a "bed"
and you get hooked up with other roommates
that i guess are college age.
Looks like it was built in the last 5-10 years

The outside pool looks nice.
The common area has terrible wall colors
as does the workout area, what word
comes to mind? Gauche?

http://www.88-west.com/university_of_illinois_apartments_faq

You could walk to Lowes and the Marketplace Mall
Maybe. Kindof a pedesterian desert.
Doesnt seem like a good idea

I also found in the comments section
that there was a shooting there this
sept 2010.... Hmmm. Weird Place.
Looks like they just added shuttle service.
Ok, thats good, but I personally
wouldnt want to live in sprawl.

New Graduate Dance Center for U of I

http://news.illinois.edu/news/10/1209dance.html

(Dec. 10), the department of dance and the School of Architecture, both in the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois, will celebrate the grand opening of the Graduate Dance Center, a 5,000-square-foot facility for dance research that was realized through the collaborative efforts of student and faculty volunteers and donated materials from an Iowa barn and a campus basketball court.


Built in 1905 as an agronomy seed laboratory, the two-story brick building was turned into a forestry laboratory in the late 1960s before the unit then known as the School of Art took it over in 1984, converting it into print shops and workrooms.U of I. students, faculty and staff members have spent more than two years planning, designing and building the center, transforming a cluttered artists’ workshop in an outmoded building on the south quad into an elegant rehearsal space for emerging artists and creators in the dance and architecture programs. Located on the second floor of the former East Art Annex 2 at 1301 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, the two studios in the center are providing desperately needed space for graduate students in dance to do research.

http://news.illinois.edu/ii/10/1216/nugenthall.html

This fall, Kelsey Rozema and 150 other students moved into Timothy J. Nugent Hall, UI’s first new residence hall in 44 years. Rozema and her 16 first-floor hall mates have severe disabilities but their new home is the most accessible residence hall in the nation.

Ikenberry dining hall has seating on two levels. | Nugent Hall, and the new Student Dining and Residential Programs Building opened this semester in the Ikenberry Commons residence hall complex (named for former UI President Stanley O. Ikenberry), located between Gregory and Peabody drives and Fourth and First streets, in Champaign, just north of the Activities and Recreation Center. When construction of the remaining facility is complete, it will house 500.

Named for the pioneering founder of Disability Resources and Educational Services at Illinois, Nugent Hall has first-floor rooms designed for students with severe physical disabilities who require assistance with the activities of daily living. Rozema has a wireless pager that will connect her to an around-the-clock help contact, and there is a remote-controlled life system to get her to the bathroom from her bed. There are sensor-controlled switches throughout the room; her door opens with a wave of a wireless card. Features such as accessible elevators and lower dining hall counter heights create an inviting, friendly environment.

The expectations of both parents and students have evolved. Whether it’s the air-conditioned rooms, more bathrooms (one per five rooms), bigger spaces or the connection with the Student Dining and Residential Programs Building, a.k.a the “Ike,” the new digs have students thinking about living on campus longer. University Housing provides resources and connections that simply can’t be found off campus.

Visitors to the new residence hall not only like the look of the facility, but also the Ike, which includes a library, computer lab, coffee shop and quiet lounges for studying.

Residents also like the Ike’s 57 North store, which serves to-go items from mid-morning to late at night, and the Caffeinator, which brews gourmet espresso drinks and blends fresh fruit smoothies all day. The Ikenberry dining hall includes a two-story seating area and multiple food stations for baked goods, international cuisine, pizza and burgers, a salad bar and vegan options. Local produce from the on-campus student farm is served daily. Students from all over campus can use their meal plans at the Ike. And faculty and staff members can dine at the Ike (as well as any of the campus dining halls).

Part of the appeal of the new buildings comes from their sustainable features, such as trayless dining, which allows students all-you-can eat dining without the use of trays. The method, inaugurated two years ago and now standard in all dining halls on campus, has been proven to reduce food waste and electricity and water use.

The Ike also has a workout room, music practice rooms, space for Housing student organizations, and a learning commons with a computer lab and residence hall library.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-12-20/urbana-council-approves-landmark-designation-lincoln-hotel.h

http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2010-rst/5850.html

Mayo Clinic and University of Illinois Create Research Alliance
Mayo Clinic-University of Illinois strategic alliance for technology-based health care
Tuesday, June 22, 2010

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are announcing a strategic alliance designed to promote a broad spectrum of collaborative research, development of new technologies and clinical tools, and design and implementation of novel education programs. Both parties recently signed an agreement establishing the formal relationship.


This Mayo Clinic - Illinois strategic alliance provides a framework for broad cooperation in individualized medicine by integrating efforts in three areas:

Basic, translational and clinical research
Bioengineering, especially for point-of-care diagnostics
Development of tools and methods in computational biology and medicine

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illinois/1161606-old-97s-champaign-illinois.html

link to old 97s song about champaign illinois

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2010-12-30/residents-weigh-downtown-urbana-desires.html


Residents weigh in on downtown Urbana desires
Thu, 12/30/2010 - 8:00am | Christine Des Garennes
URBANA – "We need more bars and more music first. Then the restaurants will come."

"We do not need more restaurants in downtown Urbana."

Among the many opinions area residents offered about downtown Urbana: No more first-floor professional offices. Bring in a Trader Joe's. Bring in more locally owned businesses. More art (but nothing that looks like the "Hamburglar," please). More "third places," such as coffee shops.

The city of Urbana has released a preliminary report examining downtown Urbana's retail, residential and office markets. A final report, which will include specific recommendations for redevelopment, is expected to come in the next month and a half. A public meeting and presentation to the city council will occur in mid- to late-January; a date has not been finalized yet.

Part of the work Evanston-based Business Districts Inc., or BDI, has done so far for the city includes reviewing demographic data and interviewing merchants and landowners in addition to compiling and analyzing a community survey about people's shopping and dining habits.

"Overall their results show that the people who live in Urbana are interested in spending their money in Urbana," said Tom Carrino, the city's economic development manager.

BDI is being paid $41,500 for the analysis as well as coming up with site-specific concepts and recommendations for four redevelopment sites. The firm will also aid in developing marketing materials to attract businesses and developers. An analysis on the hotel market is also expected.

Possible redevelopment sites include the city-owned property on the block north of Urbana's city hall, which sits at 400 S. Vine St.; as well as private properties such as the former Denny's Cleaners site on Race Street just north of Main Street, the southwest corner of Vine Street and University/Cunningham Avenue, as well as property off North Broadway Avenue by the old Jolly Roger restaurant.

"There's more analysis to be done to see what types of businesses we could effectively attract," and show that there's a market for, Carrino said. Such a report could be seen as "ammunition" of sorts for the city to show businesses and developers "you can do business in downtown and succeed," he said.

"Downtown is a real gem with some wonderful retailers, but it's tough to get people down here," said Allen Strong, who runs the long-running Courier and Silvercreek restaurants in downtown Urbana.

The "single, biggest thing" the city could do to help downtown Urbana is not conduct additional market analyses, but redevelop the Boneyard Creek corridor similar to what has been done in Champaign along First Street from Springfield to University Avenues, Strong said.

"What Champaign has done is ... beautiful," he said. "We have the opportunity to move forward with the same thing, ... to replace infrastructure that's failing, to bring new energy into the downtown."

He also expressed some concern about some survey responses that indicated a desire to have more dining options in downtown. Champaign-Urbana already has plenty of restaurants, he said.

The survey results indicated "most shopping being done is happening on the periphery and that's one of the things we want to change," said Carolyn Baxley, owner of the Cinema Gallery in downtown Urbana and a member of the downtown steering committee.

Some survey respondents requested longer shop hours from downtown merchants. That did not come as a surprise to Baxley. The challenge is that in order for a business owner to staff someone in the evening or additional days during the week, "we've got to have the shoppers to justify being open those extra hours," she said.

Survey respondents also indicated one of the events that brought them to downtown Urbana was the Market at the Square held in the spring through fall in the parking lot of Lincoln Square Village. And one of the challenges facing retailers is how to bring all those people over to Main Street and other areas of downtown, she said.

Baxley also said wayfaring signs will help people find out how to get to downtown.

"It'll be good to have additional and tastefully done signage," she said.

http://www.dailyillini.com/special/semester-in-review-fall-2010/2010/12/13/renovations-continue-on-university-of-illinois-campu

Renovations continue on University of Illinois campus buildings
Rafael Guerrero News Writer

Editors note: This article is part of The Daily Illini's semester in review edition. These articles are meant to round-up the most important news of the Fall 2010 semester.

Both a new residence and dining hall went up this year; meanwhile, other renovation projects in University buildings continued as works in progress.

This semester, it was hard to walk anywhere on campus without seeing some form of construction.
Both a new residence and dining hall went up this year; meanwhile, other renovation projects in University buildings continued as works in progress.

Big additions to campus included Timothy J. Nugent Residence Hall and the accompanying Ikenberry Dining Hall. According to University Housing, one of Nugent’s key features are the first floor rooms, which are equipped to fit the needs of physically disabled students. These suite-style rooms are equipped with SureHands ceiling tracks for easy transfer from room to bath, programmable light controls and emergency power outlets.

The dining hall, meanwhile, has been a success with students and staff, said Kirsten Ruby, assistant director of Housing for marketing.

“I have seen very few negative reactions and a lot of positive feedback about the dining hall,” she said. “Students really like that they can get a lot of made-to-order food and that there is a lot of variety. We are pleased that students are making the building their own.”

Ruby said these two new buildings are the first phases of a master plan that will ultimately alter all of Ikenberry Commons. The next step is completing the second phase of Nugent by the summer of 2012. She added that the groundbreaking of a new suite-style residence hall will take place in the spring on the corner of Peabody Drive and First Street.

In addition, Ruby said that Garner Hall and Forbes Hall are scheduled for demolition soon; Garner Hall will be demolished in the summer of 2012, while Forbes will be demolished the summer of 2013.

Ruby said not to expect any quick results, however. The master plan for Ikenberry Commons is expected to be a 20- to 25-year project, and long-term plans are only in the beginning phases.

Besides student housing, there has also been significant work done on classroom buildings. One such project is the Lincoln Hall renovation. The century-old building, which had not seen major renovation since 1929, has been under construction since March and remains on schedule to be completed for the fall semester of 2012, said Holly Korab, senior director of communications for the College of LAS.

Workers are now installing plumbing and electrical wiring. Korab said the goal of the project was for Lincoln Hall to receive an update while maintaining its historical significance.

“Anything that was historically significant will be preserved in its entirety,” Korab said.

Ongoing work on other buildings such as the English Building, Gregory Hall and Huff Hall will continue into next year.

Illinois’ Innovation to Change How Scientists Treat MRSA

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110103005706/en/Illinois%E2%80%99-Innovation-Change-Scientists-Treat-MRSA

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Start-up company ImmuVen and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have entered into a license agreement under which ImmuVen will develop modified T cell receptor proteins for the purpose of treating cancer and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). ImmuVen was co-founded by Dr. David Kranz of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Dr. Patrick Schlievert of the University of Minnesota.

“We are very pleased that we could stay local, specifically in Research Park, which provides an infrastructure to support start-ups with consulting, facilities, capital, and potential hires.”ImmuVen’s technology focuses on the engineering of T cell receptor proteins for treatments in which classical drugs have proven unsuccessful. T cell receptors can be found on the surface of T cells, one of the major types of white blood cells involved in fighting diseases. They have many features similar to antibodies including the recognition of foreign antigens.

Unlike classical treatments for MRSA, ImmuVen’s T cell receptor proteins work by targeting the toxins rather than destroying the foreign organism. ImmuVen took this approach because once the toxins are released into a person’s bloodstream, the person will remain sick even after the organism releasing the toxins is killed. For this reason, ImmuVen engineered a T cell receptor protein that binds to and neutralizes the toxins, thereby preventing their toxicity.

Currently ImmuVen is one of only a few companies looking at this approach for treating MRSA, a drug-resistant staph infection responsible for more than 18,000 deaths in children and adults each year. To date, modified T cell receptors have been successful in treating MRSA in animal studies performed at the University of Minnesota.

In addition to treating MRSA, ImmuVen is also engineering T cell receptor proteins that could be effective therapeutics for cancer. Researchers plan to remove the T cell receptor from the patient, engineer it to better target the cancer, and deliver back to the patient. ImmuVen is currently developing strategies to both improve and deliver the T cell receptors.

According to ImmuVen Interim CEO, Tim Hoerr, the next steps for ImmuVen include submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA and continued development of several key leads against MRSA and specific types of cancers. Hoerr realizes how critical this license was to the growth of ImmuVen and is pleased with the efficiency of the licensing process between ImmuVen and the University.

ImmuVen has recently begun operations at the University of Illinois Research Park in Champaign. Hoerr comments “We are very pleased that we could stay local, specifically in Research Park, which provides an infrastructure to support start-ups with consulting, facilities, capital, and potential hires.” ImmuVen has recently hired their first scientist and will be looking to hire 2-4 more within the next year.

About Illinois

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a world-class research institution boasting a respected faculty, high national rankings, and state-of-the art facilities. The University’s accomplishments include 22 Nobel Laureates among its faculty and alumni and such revolutionary innovations as the Web browser, new plant varieties, and self-healing polymer.

About ImmuVen

ImmuVen is a start-up founded by Dr. David Kranz of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Dr. Patrick Schlievert of the University of Minnesota. ImmuVen develops novel drugs that can be used to treat infectious diseases and cancer. The company is located in Champaign, Illinois at the University of Illinois Research Park.

Research Park Year in Review

http://researchpark.illinois.edu/uploads/2010YearInReview.pdf

http://researchpark.illinois.edu/

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-01-09/closed-hotel-properties-could-be-empty-while.html

Closed hotel properties could be empty for a whileSun, 01/09/2011 - 10:00am | Christine Des Garennes

Photo by: Vanda Bidwell/ The News Gazette

The Gateway Studios property at 1505 N. Neil St., C.


First it was a Holiday Inn in the early 1960s, followed by Howard Johnson's, Premier Inn and most recently 1505 N. Neil Street in Champaign was Gateway Studios, a place where low-income residents could rent rooms.

In the early 1970s, 2408 N. Cunningham Avenue in Urbana opened as a Travelodge, followed by a short stint as the Regency Inn, Thrift-O-Tel, Park Inn International and lastly, the Hanford Inn & Suites.

Today both hotel properties – each one is just off I-74 and part of a gateway to each city – are closed, surrounded by barricades erected by the cities.

In Champaign, the city has filed suit to force the owners of Gateway Studios to demolish the building. It's been vacant since May 2009 when utilities were shut off for nonpayment.

In Urbana, city staff, which evacuated the Hanford Inn in May 2010 after discovering a number of fire code violations, said it is willing to work with the owners on bringing the hotel up to code. But the owners have not come forward with any specific plan, according to the city.

Meanwhile, neither landowner has paid property taxes in the last two years; area taxing bodies are due hundreds of thousands of dollars from both properties. And it appears as though both properties could be sitting vacant for a while.

"The city has its condemnation complaint and would like us to tear it down," said Jeff Tock, the Champaign lawyer who represents the owners of 1505 N. Neil St. "But they don't have the money, the city doesn't have the money, so we're waiting for the economy to improve," he said.

Urbana has won several circuit court cases against the Hanford Inn for nonpayment of hotel taxes. When guests book a room at a hotel, 5 percent of what they pay for their overnight stay goes to the city. Based on estimates on previous taxes paid to the city, Urbana said Hanford's owners need to pay the city a total of $5,090, plus another $2,745 for fire code violations, according to assistant city attorney Curt Borman.

The hotel was forced to close after the city found numerous fire code violations. After a full inspection of the hotel, fire department inspectors did not fine one working smoke alarm in the hotel rooms, Borman said.

But unlike the Gateway Studios building in Champaign, Urbana officials have not moved to demolish the hotel.

"It's not going to fall down tomorrow. It's an old building that needs to be cared for," Borman said.

The Hanford is within one of the city's tax increment financing district, meaning if someone were to invest in the property by reopening it as a hotel or redeveloping the site, there is financial assistance from the city available, according to Tom Carrino, economic development manager for the city.

"We had some contact (with the owners) after the building closed. ... We extended every courtesy we could to them. Our door is always open," Borman said.

"I don't know what their intentions are at this point," he said.

The owner listed on Hanford's property tax bill is MRK Management. Property and court documents also name a Kirit Patel, Mahendra Patel and Rakesh Patel as being associated with the hotel. Calls to Kirit Patel were not returned. No contact information for the others was available.

"It is a good property. It could be reopened as a hotel with improvements or redeveloped," said Urbana Community Development Director Libby Tyler. Farmland adjacent to the Hanford is currently for sale and "it would improve the offering if (the two parcels) were combined. It would be a fantastic redevelopment site. ... We think being across from O'Brien (Auto Park) could be appealing" to developers, she said, especially since it's by the I-74 Cunningham Avenue exit.

In around 2008 MRK leased the Hanford to a man named Charles Jia, according to the city, and some work was done to update the building. In an interview with The News-Gazette in 2008, Jia said he planned a major renovation, including converting a courtyard to an enclosed water park with water slides and games and restoring the hotel to its "former glory."

"It's a big building. Maybe they can't get it fixed up all at once, but we can do five or 15 rooms at a time," Borman said.

The building does need a complete alarm system, Urbana Fire Chief Mike Dilley said.

After two years of unpaid property taxes, the Hanford Inn needs to pay $119,430 in order to be redeemed, according to the Champaign County clerk's office.

As for Gateway Studios in Champaign, its owners need to pay $202,554 to be redeemed, according to the clerk's office.

The Gateway Studios property on Neil Street has been owned by the same family, the heirs of the original landowners, since the 1960s. But the owners – the legal entity is Donovan Acres LLC with an Arizona address – has had a long-term lease with a company called MBA Enterprise II, which then subleased it to Gateway Studios, a California company that filed for bankruptcy, according to Donovan's lawyer, Jeff Tock.

The lessee was responsible for property taxes, Tock said. When those taxes were not paid, Donovan Acres sued the lessee for breach of contract. The lease has since been terminated.

"The hotel has been condemned and is in bad shape," Champaign assistant attorney Laura Hall said. "From when it was condemned (May 2010) to now, the building has been left unattended and unattended buildings do not improve over time," she said.

In recent years the city has also cited the property for weeds, junk and debris.

The owners "do not want to pay for demolition and we're trying to force the owners to demolish their own property," Hall said.

Typically with cases of properties in disrepair the city will place a lien on the property, foreclose on the lien and eventually obtain the property and then hire a contractor to demolish it, Hall said.

In this case, the demolition of Gateway Studios is estimated at $300,000 to $500,000, she said.

"It's a stressful time" financially for the city, Hall said, "and it's asking a lot for taxpayers to pay the bill" for the demolition.

Right now the two parties – the City of Champaign and Donovan Acres – are still in court and engaged in discovery, which involves gathering financial information on the owners, Hall said.

"The building should be demolished and does not have a useful life at this point," Tock said. There may be asbestos in the building, but in order to confirm that a survey needs to be completed, he said.

"My clients don't have the money to do a survey, let alone demolition," he said.

"We're waiting for the economy to turn around, to see if someone might be interested in acquiring the property and doing the demolition," he said. "The economy has been such that we don't quite know what the demand might be for a property in this situation, where you have some unknowns about the demolition expense."

If the building were demolished and the property cleared, it could be worth $1.2 million, Tock said.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/university-illinois/2011-01-16/supercomputer-other-projects-bring-major-funds-ui.html

URBANA – It may not be surprising that the University of Illinois is the nation's leader in university funding from the National Science Foundation.

But one number stands out: A single grant puts it ahead of the total amounts for other major competing universities, including Purdue and Wisconsin.

The NSF awarded the UI $185 million in fiscal year 2010, ranging from small projects to the Blue Waters supercomputer, which alone counts for $90.5 million.

University of California at Berkeley is the second-highest ranking university, with $125 million. The next-highest Big Ten school is University of Wisconsin at Madison, with $90 million.

One non-university institution does rank above the UI, Arizona's National Optical Astronomy Laboratories, awarded $234 million. Kitt Peak, near Tucson, is the home of the world's largest optical telescopes.


Here is another link for those clueless about blue waters supercomputer like me.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/technology/2010-06-18/peek-supercomputing-blue-waters-open-house.html

A peek at supercomputing with Blue Waters open house
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 12:00pm

CHAMPAIGN – Blue Waters, the University of Illinois' state-of-the-art 88,000-square-foot facility that could revolutionize supercomputing, is up and running on a temporary, smaller scale.

For now, the hardware installed is an IBM Power 780, said spokeswoman Trish Barker. Power7 processors enable more performance than comparable IBM Power6-based systems on campus, in one-fourth the space, NCSA says. The IBM Power 780 hardware is very close to the hardware that will be used in Blue Waters.

When new IBM hardware comes, the water-cooled supercomputer will operate at a sustained petaflop – 1,000 trillion calculations per second – range.

Hence its formal name, National Petascale Computing Facility. The building at 1725 S. Oak St. had its formal opening Thursday, and visitors could see the 6-foot raised floors and enormous power handlers meant for a world leader – at a price tag of more than $200 million.

Hundreds of visitors backed up Oak Street for the tour, probably the most people who will ever be in the building at one time, since the computers will be accessed remotely by scientists.

"It's incomprehensible to me," an awed Helen Wikoff of Champaign said.

Bill Bell of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, which is based on the UI campus, said the plant has 24 megawatts of service on redundant lines, with no need for major generators as backups.

Three 10,000-gallon cooling towers feed water into 24-inch pipes that gradually branch out to provide cooling for the computers. For 70 percent of the year, the ambient temperature in central Illinois is sufficient to cool the water by itself, Bell said.

The Blue Waters machine will probably reign for about five years before new technology will cause it to be replaced, he said.

In 2007, The National Science Foundation Board recommended that the system be built at the UI, under the direction of the NCSA, with an online date of 2011.

"The building is ready," Barker said. "We're moving in limited hardware. You can see the 6-foot floor and the cooling system."

The IBM processors are being used "on a pretty limited basis" for applications relating to the development of Blue Waters, Barker said.

The building will also house the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, a Department of Defense project to be operated remotely from Alaska, she said.

The 20,000-square-foot raised-floor data center will house the Blue Waters sustained-petaflop supercomputer and other computing, networking and data systems; the remainder of the building provides space for 40 staff members, the UI said.

The building is gold LEED certified, Bell noted, thanks in large part to the efficiency of water cooling.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/features/its-your-business/2011-01-16/its-your-business-dollar-java-bucks-high-prices-

It's Your Business: Dollar Java bucks high prices for coffeeSun, 01/16/2011 - 11:00am | Christine Des Garennes
For those of you who like to complain about coffee prices these days, Champaign will soon welcome a new cafe where coffee is priced at a cool $1.

Dollar Java plans to open in the beginning of February on the first floor of 51 E. Green St., in space that used to house the Refinery's Campustown location at the southeast corner of Locust and Green streets.

The business, a subsidiary of Campus Property Management, is the first of its kind in the area and will have a few twists.

First, patrons will help themselves to the coffee, which will be brewed in several different single-serving Keurig coffee machines.

General manager Emily Nixon described the concept as "like Cocomero, but for coffee," referring to the self-serve frozen yogurt cafe at 709 S. Wright St., C.

The cafe will not have espresso machines, but will have different flavored coffees, teas, hot chocolate, Red Bull drinks, Jones Soda drinks, illy coffee drinks and more.

Second, Dollar Java, which will have free wi-fi, will rent iPads to customers for a fee. Prices have not been finalized for the iPad rental.

"It's a fairly large space and an open welcoming environment," Nixon said, estimating the square footage at around 6,000.

"Because we have a large space available, we're hoping to host open-mic nights" and make the space available for group meetings, she said.

The cafe also will have snacks, such as cupcakes and macaroons, and will add bars, muffins and other treats later.

Dollar Java will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday.

http://www.dailyillini.com/node/46346

White Horse reopens with old traditions

Samantha Bakall News staff writer
Posted: January 16th, 2011 - 11:00 PM
Updated: January 16th, 2011 - 11:00 PM

A new window allows light into the front room at the White Horse Inn on Green St. in Champaign. Co-owners said that after the White Horse Inn closed early last year, they wanted to sell the business. When they could not find an interested buyer, then they decided to reopen the bar this winter.

The White Horse Inn, 112 E. Green St., in Champaign, reopened this weekend after financial troubles caused the bar to close in February of last year.

The bar had a soft reopening on Friday night. Its grand opening was Saturday.

White Horse is returning with some changes, which its owners hope are for the better. It has closed the kitchen doors and intends to operate only as a bar.

“We’re operating later only, opening at 8 or 9 p.m. and closing around 2 a.m.,” said Aidas Mattis, the bar’s co-owner.

Julie Johann, senior in AHS and bartender, said the bar will continue to have karaoke night on Wednesdays, a tradition it previously observed, while offering bar specials throughout the week.

“We feel that White Horse is a good tradition on the campus and thought that it would be a good idea to bring it back this year,” Johann said.

Daina Mattis, the bar’s general manager, said she and other co-owners and managers were very excited for the bar’s opening night and hope it can remain open.

“Everyone is really excited that the White Horse Inn is reopening again,” Daina Mattis said. “We really want it to work this time.”

Approximately 800 people responded that they were attending on the reopening’s Facebook page, with many posting old memories of the times they spent there. White Horse had been open for about a year and a half before closing in February.

Aiden Mattis said after White Horse closed last time, they wanted to sell the business — but the owners could not find an interested buyer. They then decided to reopen the bar before they could lose their liquor license. The bar’s owners have renegotiated parts of their contract to lower costs and secure the location.

“If things go well, we will be open for a while,” Aidas Mattis said.

Im playing catchup
A worthy overlooked story/newsitem from last year

http://www.dailyillini.com/features/greeks-campus/2010/09/22/students-win-grant-to-build-local-garden

Students win grant to build local garden
Meghan Keenan Features writer
Posted: September 22nd, 2010 - 10:33 PM

Douglass Park in North Champaign will soon have a new addition: a neighborhood garden, thanks to a project which hopes to improve community relations between North Champaign and the University campus.

The project was started last spring as a result of a competition for business and engineering students, said Steve Heiss, sophomore in Business and philanthropy chair of Alpha Chi Rho, one of the student groups that has gotten involved with the project. The object of the competition was to create a community service project that involved a combination of environmental sustainability, education and entrepreneurship.

The accounting firm Ernst & Young sponsored the competition, offering a reward of $10,000 toward funding the project of the winning team. The University of Illinois won first place at the University level, as well as the national level and received the $10,000 grant to begin building the community garden.

In North Champaign, 40 percent of children live below the poverty line. The Champaign Park District plans to use the garden for summer camps and after-school programs, as the park is located next to Booker T. Washington Elementary School. The garden will also teach the children about eating healthy, and will provide local shelters with a supply of fresh produce.

The garden will also serve as a location for public classes on topics such as: composting, basic botany, cooking and preservations, nutrition, rain water sequestration, pest control and garden design. Additionally, one section of the garden will be available for community members to rent and maintain. Fees from plot leasing and the classes will together help the community generate some revenue.

While support is being gathered from local, state and national leaders, the project cannot be a success without the support of the actual gardeners.

“We currently have two and a half raisebeds built, with tomatoes, peppers, squash, and pumpkins growing,” said Diana Rechenmacher, sophomore in business and one of the creators of the project, in an e-mail interview. “We are excited to get the community and schools more involved next semester, as that will be when these community members can start renting plots.”

Alpha Chi Rho members understand the meaning of the project. As students living on campus, “we haven’t been taking care of [our campus’s] backyard as well as we should,” Heiss said.

“The project helps to keep kids out of trouble and provides a nutritious food source for the community,” Heiss said. “Not everyone can afford to buy food, and the garden gives people the option of growing their own.”

Other members of Alpha Chi Rho also recoginize the importance of contributing to a neighborhood effort.

“[The community garden project] is a good way for us to get our philanthropy hours and help out the community at the same time,” said Jonathan Wright, sophomore in FAA and public relations chair of Alpha Chi Rho.

Last Saturday marked the first day of Alpha Chi Rho volunteering at the garden, and they will continue to help out at Douglass Park this Saturday and next Saturday as well.

Students can find more information about getting involved with the project at http://cu-garden.com/ or on the group’s facebook page

Another worthy article from last year that I missed.
Well I just started this thread this past fall.
I wont be posting every old article but this one is pretty important.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/film/2010-04-23/ebert-film-center-ui-halfway-there-after-anonymous-donation.html

Ebert film center at UI halfway there after anonymous donationFri, 04/23/2010 - 5:00am | Paul Wood
URBANA – A Roger Ebert film center here is now halfway to reality.

The University of Illinois College of Media needs about $5 million for a center to honor the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic and local hero. Ebert and his wife Chaz gave the first million; this week the college announced an additional anonymous bequest for $1.5 million.

Walt Harrington, interim dean of the College of Media, said the donor is "excited to help create a center that unites the film industry and higher education and the public."

The Chicago critic and Urbana native is also an alumnus of the university, class of 1964. He and his wife donated $1 million toward creation of the Roger Ebert Program for Film Studies fund – a program Ebert couldn't have majored in while in school here.

The UI will continue fund-raising for the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies, which is what the program will be called once the fund-raising goal is met.

Don Kojich, associate vice president for marketing and communications at the University of Illinois Foundation, confirmed the bequest.

Harrington said the bequest was exciting for the college.

"We hope that it creates motivation in people who want to join in contributing to this great idea," he said.

The dean noted that over the summer, the UI Board of Trustees created the first Department of Media and Cinema Studies in the College of Media. Until that creation, film units were sprinkled over various units of the UI.

"This is a validation of that decision," Harrington said.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/nu-btt011311.php

Better than the human eye
Tiny camera with adjustable zoom could aid endoscopic imaging, robotics, night vision
Researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are the first to develop a curvilinear camera, much like the human eye, with the significant feature of a zoom capability, unlike the human eye.
The "eyeball camera" has a 3.5x optical zoom, takes sharp images, is inexpensive to make and is only the size of a nickel. (A higher zoom is possible with the technology.)

While the camera won't be appearing at Best Buy any time soon, the tunable camera -- once optimized -- should be useful in many applications, including night-vision surveillance, robotic vision, endoscopic imaging and consumer electronics.

"We were inspired by the human eye, but we wanted to go beyond the human eye," said Yonggang Huang, Joseph Cummings Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. "Our goal was to develop something simple that can zoom and capture good images, and we've achieved that."

The tiny camera combines the best of both the human eye and an expensive single-lens reflex (SLR) camera with a zoom lens. It has the simple lens of the human eye, allowing the device to be small, and the zoom capability of the SLR camera without the bulk and weight of a complex lens. The key is that both the simple lens and photodetectors are on flexible substrates, and a hydraulic system can change the shape of the substrates appropriately, enabling a variable zoom.

The research will be published the week of Jan. 17 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Huang, co-corresponding author of the PNAS paper, led the theory and design work at Northwestern. His colleague John Rogers, the Lee J. Flory Founder Chair in Engineering and professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois, led the design, experimental and fabrication work. Rogers is a co-corresponding author of the paper.

Earlier eyeball camera designs are incompatible with variable zoom because these cameras have rigid detectors. The detector must change shape as the in-focus image changes shape with magnification. Huang and Rogers and their team use an array of interconnected and flexible silicon photodetectors on a thin, elastic membrane, which can easily change shape. This flexibility opens up the field of possible uses for such a system. (The array builds on their work in stretchable electronics.)

The camera system also has an integrated lens constructed by putting a thin, elastic membrane on a water chamber, with a clear glass window underneath.

Initially both detector and lens are flat. Beneath both the membranes of the detector and the simple lens are chambers filled with water. By extracting water from the detector's chamber, the detector surface becomes a concave hemisphere. (Injecting water back returns the detector to a flat surface.) Injecting water into the chamber of the lens makes the thin membrane become a convex hemisphere.

To achieve an in-focus and magnified image, the researchers actuate the hydraulics to change the curvatures of the lens and detector in a coordinated manner. The shape of the detector must match the varying curvature of the image surface to accommodate continuously adjustable zoom, and this is easily done with this new hemispherical eye camera.


###

The paper is titled "Dynamically tunable hemispherical electronic eye camera system with adjustable zoom capability." In addition to Huang and Rogers, other authors of the paper are Chaofeng Lu and Ming Li, from Northwestern; Inhwa Jung, Jianliang Xiao, Viktor Malyarchuk and Jongseung Yoon, from the University of Illinois; and Zhuangjian Liu, from the Institute of High Performance Computing, Singapore.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2011-01-17/property-purchase-discussion-urbana.html

Property purchase up for discussion in Urbana
Mon, 01/17/2011 - 7:40am | Tom Kacich
URBANA – The possible purchase of property near the city building, and a revision to the city's liquor license ordinance, are on the agenda for the Urbana City Council on Tuesday.

The council, which normally meets Monday, will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the city building, 400 S. Vine St., because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.

The council could decide to exercise an exclusive option and purchase the property at 202 S. Vine St., a block north of the city building, to be used for future development. The property is currently the home of a Goodyear tire store.

The city owns all the other property on the block and hope eventually to ask for proposals to redevelop the property, said Urbana's economic development manager, Tom Carrino.

It could be developed for any combination of uses, he said.

"The city's comprehensive plan offers flexibility," Carrino said. "We are not dictating anything in there other than, tell us developers, what you think might work there."

The council also will consider creating a new liquor license, known as Class N, for retirement communities that want to sell liquor for consumption on their property. Clark Lindsey Village officials have asked to be able to sell liquor in their dining room. The cost of a Class N license would be $2,790 a year.

The council also is being asked to increase the number of Class C licenses, good for the sale of package liquor, from 11 to 27. A Class C licenses is $4,662 a year. According to a memo to council members, the holders of four Class BBB licenses (good for sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption only) have requested Class C licenses.

Also on the agenda is an agreement to add electrical outlets for the Saturday morning Market at the Square events at the Lincoln Square Village in downtown Urbana. The $27,500 cost of the improvement would be paid for from a Market at the Square fund in the city budget. There is about $73,000 in the fund. The electrical work is proposed to be done beginning this month and continuing into March.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-01-19/jimmy-johns-founder-contemplates-moving-headquarters-out-illinois.h

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-19/adm-gives-university-of-illinois-10-million-to-study-crop-loss.html

Archer Daniels Midland Co., the world’s largest grain processor, said it’s giving $10 million to found an institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign to minimize postharvest grain and oilseed losses.

The institute will help farmers, particularly smallholders in developing nations, prevent spoilage of crops by pests and diseases and improve grain storage and handling, said Patricia Woertz, Decatur, Illinois-based ADM’s chief executive officer.

“Preserving what is already grown is fundamental to feeding the world,” Woertz said in a speech today at the university.

Minimizing postharvest loss will help farmers feed their families and help boost global grain stocks, she said.

Corn prices surged 62 percent in the six months before today as adverse U.S. weather cut production, reducing inventories before this year’s harvest to the lowest since 2007.

http://www.news.illinois.edu/news/11/0118staph_oldfield.html

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers have determined the structure and mechanism of an enzyme that performs the crucial first step in the formation of cholesterol and a key virulence factor in staph bacteria.

Chemists at the University of Illinois and collaborators in Taiwan studied a type of enzyme found in humans, plants, fungi, parasites, and many bacteria that begins the synthesis of triterpenes – one of the most abundant and most ancient classes of molecules. Triterpenes are precursors to steroids such as cholesterol.

“These enzymes are important drug targets,” said chemistry professor Eric Oldfield, who co-led the study. “Blocking their activity can lead to new cholesterol-lowering drugs, antibiotics that cure staph infections, and drugs that target the parasites that cause tropical maladies such as Chagas disease – a leading cause of sudden death in Latin America.”

For the study, the team picked a representative enzyme, dehydrosqualene synthase (CrtM), from the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium. Staph is one of the most common, yet notoriously hard to kill, bacterial infections. A key reason for staph’s resilience is a golden-colored coating called staphyloxanthin that protects it from the body’s immune system. CrtM catalyzes the first reaction in making staphyloxanthin, so inhibiting it would strip the bacteria of their protective coats and leave them vulnerable to attack by white blood cells.


The researchers already knew what CrtM looked like and its end product, but they didn’t know how the enzyme did its job. Uncovering the mechanism of action would enable scientists to design better inhibitors, and even tailor them to other targets.

The team crystallized the enzyme and soaked it with intermediates and inhibitors. They then studied the complex structures by X-ray crystallography using the synchrotron at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory.

They found that CrtM performs a two-step reaction, individually removing two diphosphate groups from the substrate. The substrate switches between two active sites within the enzyme as the reaction progresses. The most effective inhibitors bind to both sites, blocking the enzyme from any action.

“The leads that people have been developing for treating these diseases really haven’t had any structural basis,” said Oldfield, also a professor of biophysics. “But now that we can see how the protein works, we’re in a much better position to design molecules that will be much more effective against staph infections and parasitic diseases, and potentially, in cholesterol-lowering.”

The researchers’ inhibitor technologies have been licensed to AuricX Pharmaceuticals, which recently received a grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund for preclinical testing in staph infections.

The team published its work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The work was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Council. Co-authors were U. of I. graduate students Fu-Yang Lin and Yi-Liang Liu, research scientists Rong Cao and Yonghui Zhang, and postdoctoral associate Ke Wang. Taiwan collaborators included Chia-I Liu, Wen-Yih Jeng, Tzu-Ping Ko and Andrew H. Wang.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/environment/2011-01-23/urbana-wants-demolish-former-cleaner-building.html

Urbana wants to demolish former cleaner building
Sun, 01/23/2011 - 1:00pm | Christine Des Garennes

Photo by: Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette

The former Denny's Cleaners building on Race Street in Urbana.

URBANA – City officials have moved forward with plans to demolish a downtown building that once housed a dry-cleaning business, after part of the building's chimney collapsed last year.

But even if the former Denny's Professional Cleaners & Launderers building at 115-119 N. Race St. is eventually demolished, it may be a while before the site is cleaned of any environmental pollutants and redeveloped.

In late August, part of the building's chimney collapsed, prompting the city to condemn the property after a structural engineer determined some of the brick was unstable. A portion of Race Street has been closed ever since.:bash::bash::bash:

After learning the estate that owns the building could not afford to demolish it, Urbana filed a petition to demolish. The city expects to be awarded a judgment in its favor soon.

Thorpe Facer, attorney for the owners – the estate of the late Paul Lincicome – said the family does not have any plans for the building and they are not opposing the city's petition to demolish it because they do not have the money to pay for the demolition themselves.

"The only asset of the estate is the building itself," he said.

Denny's has been vacant since it closed in August 2006 and filed for bankruptcy.

City officials plan to have Champaign engineering consulting companies Frauenhoffer & Associates and GEOCON prepare bid specifications for the demolition and a demolition plan. That's needed, Urbana's economic development manager Tom Carrino said, because the demolition could be a complicated one, considering the site's proximity to neighboring buildings and the environmental contamination found on the site. The city expects to pay about $34,300 for the preparation work on the demolition. The money will come from the tax increment financing district, in which the building sits, according to Carrino

Once bid specifications are drawn up, the city would issue an invitation to bid from contractors, with bids expected to be submitted by early May. Demolition could be completed by the end of June.

The city could place a lien on the property for the cost of the demolition and the city could be paid when then property is eventually sold. The estate would have to work with its bank on a sale, since there is still a mortgage associated with the property, according to Facer.

At one point the city had an option to purchase the building, but it let that option expire.

"It was a complicated project as far as redevelopment. There were some environmental complications, and the city decided not to move forward with acquisition of the site," Carrino said.

The city's goal was to package the site for private development. In 2007, JSM Development of Champaign expressed an interest in building a $7 million mixed-use building there but ultimately decided against buying the property.

"We were not going to go forward with the proposal without the site being clean environmentally," said Jill Guth, director of development with JSM. "And as the economy worsened our interest in that site decreased," she said.

In 2009, GEOCON confirmed the presence of toxic chemicals such as perchloroethylene and other petroleum-based solvents, related to the old dry-cleaning business.

Guth said the firm often evaluates possible development opportunities and its staff continues to talk with city staff and officials, but the company does not have any active projects planned for downtown Urbana.

"I think the city has a long road on that site until it's marketable," Guth said. Just because demolished does not mean it's clean, she said.

GEOCON, which took soil and water samples at the site, stated in its report to the city in 2009 that the it "appears the potential for direct human exposure to the (volatile organic compounds and semi-volatile organic compounds) is considered to be moderate to low due to the presence of relatively intact pavements and building floor slabs covering the majority of the site and the lack of potable water supply wells in the immediate vicinity of the subject site." Compounds found in soil and groundwater samples included tetrachloroethene, vinyl chloride, benzo(a)pyrene and more.

Since 2007, no other developer has expressed an interest with the city about the site.

"We haven't necessarily been networking with developers about the site because we know it's so complicated," Carrino said.

"When the environmental contamination was found a few years ago, that brought everything to a grinding halt," Facer said.

He estimated the building's cleanup to cost "at least six figures."

The state of Illinois does have a program available to help fund cleanups of dry-cleaning sites, but the business did not qualify for that program, Facer said.

One option would be for a potential developer to buy the building for less than fair market value; the amount less would be comparable to the cost of cleanup.

The building has not been appraised recently; however, the last contract to purchase the building and the land back in 2007 was for $550,000, Facer said.

http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2011/01/22/20110121-183455-pic-282562803.jpg

'Grand Re-Opening' set at University YMCA
Mon, 01/31/2011 - 8:00am | Paul Wood

CHAMPAIGN – There are no changes to the familiar wood-paneled walls, no changes in a thoughtful, energized atmosphere with a nose of Thai cookery.

But with new elevators and an exterior stairway, the 70-year-old University YMCA is more accessible to all of its users.

"So much of what we're about is being welcoming, open and accessible, so this makes perfect sense for us," YMCA development director Becca Guyette says of the more than $2 million in renovations to the building on Wright Street.

You can see the changes for yourself at a "Grand Re-Opening," starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at 1001 S. Wright St.



http://www.news-gazette.com/news/university-illinois/2011-01-31/grand-re-opening-set-university-ymca.html

http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2011/01/30/20110130-125124-pic-829412319.jpg

^you sure are dominating this thread...

^you sure are dominating this thread...

Yep, Pretty much I AM the thread.
Seems like some people are looking at it.
Hopefully some champaign/urbana fellow alumni
will join in or some natives down there or college
students. But until that day I will soldier on
keeping track of whats going on down there.......

I think its a great city, and it really is a source
of alot of new ideas and technology
in computing, biotech, engineering, medicine,
agriculture ofcourse and just good old fashioned
bench research.

http://www.one-illinois.com/

One North and One South

Another add popping up on the Daily Illini.
This mega apartment complex looks nicer
and in a more convenient location than 88 west.
But still not the best location.
Bradley has never been a great street to be around.

Also as a college kid why would you want to
be somewhere where you cant walk to campus?
Strange these new mega college kid holder complexes.
Looks nice, but its another, wow the inside looks great
the outside looks a bit sterile.
Nice facilities. But definitely not a place I would
live at if I were going to school down there now.
Also encourages drunk driving.
After drinking take the bus? Better to live closer to campus
and walk home.....

Yep, Pretty much I AM the thread.
Seems like some people are looking at it.
Hopefully some champaign/urbana fellow alumni
will join in or some natives down there or college
students. But until that day I will soldier on
keeping track of whats going on down there.......

I think its a great city, and it really is a source
of alot of new ideas and technology
in computing, biotech, engineering, medicine,
agriculture ofcourse and just good old fashioned
bench research.

It would be great to see some pictures of all this developement. I have never been to the city and am dying to see some streetscape photos. (Google streetview has covered a whole 2 streets in all of downtown.)

It would be great to see some pictures of all this developement. I have never been to the city and am dying to see some streetscape photos. (Google streetview has covered a whole 2 streets in all of downtown.)

Yeah thats pretty weak,
seeing has how the netscaper founder
marc andreson ?spelling came from U of I
and alot of internet startups as well have.
I think some enginerds and computernerds
need to put the books down and start taking pics
with the googlemap van.:bash::bash::bash::bash:
Dont know when I will have a chance to go
back down.......

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-02-10/ui-foundation-endowments-recovering.html

UI, Foundation endowments recoveringThu, 02/10/2011 - 8:30am | Paul Wood
URBANA – Endowment dollars are up both at the University of Illinois and its foundation, following a national trend for colleges in a recuperating stock market.

Donald Kojich, the associate vice president for marketing and communications at the University of Illinois Foundation, said "we did see improvement" in the size of the endowment, with a return for the last fiscal year at 12.4 percent.

The university did even better, noted Doug Beckmann, a senior associate vice president for business and finance, with a 15.6 percent return for the fiscal year period that ended June 30, 2010.

That date is the point of comparison with other institutions in a survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

The group, which calls itself NACUBO, said that in that time period, U.S. college, university and foundation endowments achieved an average investment return of 11.9 percent.

The Washington, D.C. based association polled 850 U.S.-based institutions.

In its report, available online, called the results "a sharp reversal from fiscal year 2009, when, as the result of the deep economic recession, U.S. endowments returned minus 18.7 percent returns."

It said the endowments saw stocks returns of 15.6 percent in fiscal 2010, and fixed income returns of 12.2 percent.

Real estate was the only asset class to suffer a loss in the study period, at minus 15.8 percent.

Total endowment assets rose from $291 billion to $346 billion, NACUBO said, still below pre-recession highs.

Beckmann said the UI's endowment was about $320 million; the foundation's was just under $972 million. The foundation manages the vast majority of overall endowment, he added.

Kojich said the returns are a moving target, with fluctuations daily in many of the investments, but he said he was optimistic that the economy is slowly improving.

"Capital markets are returning to more positive returns," Beckmann agreed.

The university and foundation endowment (combined) peaked out at about $1.5 billion, Beckmann said. It dropped down as low as $1.1 billion, and is now back to $1.3 billion.

Support from the endowment's income only amounts to about 1 percent of the UI's budget, though.

"While private support is very important, in the big picture the vast majority of our support comes from other sources," Beckmann said.

Hi, good morning, I didn't know this thread was open even though I've been in this forum for a while. I use to live in Champaign and I do have some photos from downtown champaign and some projects like M2, Burnham and Petascale which I was involved. Champaign - Urbana was and is a very nice place to live, very family friendly and no traffic at all, in 12 minutes you can cross the city from one corner to the other, nice parks, good little affordable restaurants and a bunch of activities for kids.
I'll find some of my personal photos and upload it for some of you who are interested.

Hi, good morning, I didn't know this thread was open even though I've been in this forum for a while. I use to live in Champaign and I do have some photos from downtown champaign and some projects like M2, Burnham and Petascale which I was involved. Champaign - Urbana was and is a very nice place to live, very family friendly and no traffic at all, in 12 minutes you can cross the city from one corner to the other, nice parks, good little affordable restaurants and a bunch of activities for kids.
I'll find some of my personal photos and upload it for some of you who are interested.

That would be cool to have some pictures.

Urbana revisits Halberstadt House issue
Taylor Goldenstein
Posted: February 13th, 2011 - 10:23 PM
Updated: February 13th, 2011 - 10:23 PM

http://www.dailyillini.com/node/47212

A topic of debate since May 2010, the 135-year-old Halberstadt House, 104 N. Central Ave., is again on the table for discussion about its landmark status — but for discussion only. The item is listed on the agenda as an update during the Committee-of-the-Whole meeting at Urbana City Council’s regular meeting Monday.

Canaan Baptist Church, which owns the property, has said it is willing to sell the property, although contrary to the original plan when it bought the land to destroy the home. The church has been planning to use the area for a parking lot to solve a parking problem that existed for some time.

“The church really doesn’t seem to want to own the property if it’s landmarked,” said Eric Jakobsson, Ward 2.

There is currently a potential buyer who has toured the property, whom Jakobsson said has plans to preserve the home. City staff is requesting more time to finalize the process of coming to a decision.

“I’m sort of optimistic that we’re going to wind up with a win-win situation,” Jakobsson said. “At the end of the day, everyone will get what they want and what should happen, which is that the church parking problem should be solved and the house should be landmarked, preserved, nurtured and even provide a very nice place for probably two families or individuals to live.”

Alternative parking locations are being looked into, such as the area adjacent to the church on the east side, where a building they owned had to be demolished. It is a place that needs more parking for commerce, Jakobsson said.

Despite the concerns expressed earlier this year, the issue of this land being over floodplains, which may present a hazard, is one that “can be overcome,” Jakobsson added.

Three resolutions are also on the agenda regarding an agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation, construction of a high cross road multi-use path and improvement by the municipality under the Illinois Highway Code.

Black holes: a model for superconductors?.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-03/uoic-bha030211.php

Urbana, Ill.—Black holes are some of the heaviest objects in the universe. Electrons are some of the lightest. Now physicists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have shown how charged black holes can be used to model the behavior of interacting electrons in unconventional superconductors.

"The context of this problem is high-temperature superconductivity," said Philip Phillips. "One of the great unsolved problems in physics is the origin of superconductivity (a conducting state with zero resistance) in the copper oxide ceramics discovered in 1986." The results of research by Phillips and his colleagues Robert G. Leigh, Mohammad Edalati, and Ka Wai Lo were published online in Physical Review Letters on March 1 and in Physical Review D on February 25.

Unlike the old superconductors, which were all metals, the new superconductors start off their lives as insulators. In the insulating state of the copper-oxide materials, there are plenty of places for the electrons to hop but nonetheless—no current flows. Such a state of matter, known as a Mott insulator after the pioneering work of Sir Neville Mott, arises from the strong repulsions between the electrons. Although this much is agreed upon, much of the physics of Mott insulators remains unsolved, because there is no exact solution to the Mott problem that is directly applicable to the copper-oxide materials.

Enter string theory—an evolving theoretical effort that seeks to describe the known fundamental forces of nature, including gravity, and their interactions with matter in a single, mathematically complete system.

Fourteen years ago, a string theorist, Juan Maldacena, conjectured that some strongly interacting quantum mechanical systems could be modeled by classical gravity in a spacetime having constant negative curvature. The charges in the quantum system are replaced by a charged black hole in the curved spacetime, thereby wedding the geometry of spacetime with quantum mechanics.

Since the Mott problem is an example of strongly interacting particles, Phillips and colleagues asked the question: "Is it possible to devise a theory of gravity that mimics a Mott insulator?" Indeed it is, as they have shown.

The researchers built on Maldacena's mapping and devised a model for electrons moving in a curved spacetime in the presence of a charged black hole that captures two of the striking features of the normal state of high-temperature superconductors: 1) the presence of a barrier for electron motion in the Mott state, and 2) the strange metal regime in which the electrical resistivity scales as a linear function of temperature, as opposed to the quadratic dependence exhibited by standard metals.

The treatment advanced in the paper published in Physical Review Letters shows surprisingly that the boundary of the spacetime consisting of a charged black hole and weakly interacting electrons exhibits a barrier for electrons moving in that region, just as in the Mott state. This work represents the first time the Mott problem has been solved (essentially exactly) in a two-dimensional system, the relevant dimension for the high-temperature superconductors.

"The next big question that we must address," said Phillips, "is how does superconductivity emerge from the gravity theory of a Mott insulator?"

###
This research was supported by the NSF DMR-0940992 and the Center for Emergent Superconductivity, a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center, Award Number DE- AC0298CH1088, and by DOE grant FG02-91-ER40709. The conclusions presented are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding agencies.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grant to fund list of Urbana’s most significant buildings
Kevin Dollear News staff writer
Posted: March 28th, 2011 - 11:24 PM
Updated: March 28th, 2011 - 11:24 PM

The Urbana City Council recommended the approval of an ordinance to accept a $5,908 grant that will fund the publication of a list of the 100 most significant buildings in Urbana during its Monday meeting.

The grant was awarded to Urbana by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency on Feb. 24. The list, to be published in a brochure and online, will include pictures, information and a map.

The project will include gathering information on the community significance of specific structures, said Robert Myers, Urbana planning manager.

He said the project will utilize both citizen involvement and previous research done by the city, including recently digitized surveys dating back to the 1970s about Urbana residents’ opinions on thousands of buildings.

Myers said the use of existing resources will help limit the cost of the project.

“(It’s) not just the end product but also the process along the way — actually talking about and uncovering information — is really important to this and is really helpful,” Myers said.

Many council members praised the grant at the meeting. Diane Marlin, Ward 7, said she was glad that the list would include structures built after World War II, which she said have been overlooked by other registries.

Others found uncertainties regarding the environmental and fiscal impact of printing brochures.

“In my world (as a University professor emeritus), we’re really trying to go as paperless as possible,” said Eric Jakobsson, Ward 2.

In other business, the council voted to authorize $220,000 for the demolition of the abandoned Denny’s Dry Cleaners, 119 N. Race St. The council also approved a new zoning map of Urbana.

They also recommended a stop sign at the intersection of Church Street and Coler Avenue and the acceptance of a $1,750 grant to an Urbana public arts program.

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/champaign-urbana/2011/03/28/grant-to-fund-list-of-urbana-s-most-significant-buildings

Ebertfest to bring in big names
The Daily Illini Staff Report
New Posted: March 18th, 2011 - 11:28 AM
Updated: March 18th, 2011 - 11:29 AM
Tagged with: Champaign-Urbana
Printer Friendly ShareThisShare on FacebookRecommend thisPost a commentDecrease Text SizeIncrease Text Size The lineup for Robert Ebert’s Film Festival announced some big names to come to the Virginia Theatre.

According to the Ebertfest website, filmmaker guests will include Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton and Oscar-nominated director-animator-writer Paul Fierlinger. Fierlinger and Swinton will be at the festival April 28 and April 30, respectively.

Michael Barker, Co-President of Sony Pictures Classics, will also be at the festival.

Ebertfest starts April 27 with Metropolis playing at 7 p.m.

A full list of guests and the complete schedule can be found on the Ebertfest website.

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/champaign-urbana/2011/03/18/ebertfest-to-bring-in-big-names

Student creates website to observe afflicted Green Street
Christopher Lowery Daytime Assignment Editor Contact me
New Posted: March 29th, 2011 - 4:43 PM
Updated: March 29th, 2011 - 4:45 PM
Tagged with: Campus, green street fire, Jordan Zucker, website, Zorba's Restaurant, Champaign-Urbana
Printer Friendly ShareThisShare on FacebookRecommend thisPost a commentDecrease Text SizeIncrease Text Size A student has set up a website to monitor the recovery efforts along the fire damaged section of Green Street.

Jordan Zucker, senior in engineering, created savezorbas.com that contains daily updates on the fire that destroyed the building complex housing Zorba’s, Mia Za’s and Pitaya.

Zucker lives across from the destroyed spot and decided to create the site after realizing he had a great view of the area.

“I thought it would be cool to show everyone what is going on and spread the word,” he said. “Everyone seems interested and it’s one of the biggest events that’s happened on the campus in a while.”

Zucker decided to use the title of “Save Zorba’s” due to it being the establishment he is currently missing the most.

“It’s really all about everything that happened, collecting information and keeping it available for everyone to access,” he said.

The site also features a live continuous video feed of the area. The camera is positioned from Zucker’s apartment and “allows people to see what is going on while it’s live and happening.”

Zucker said he plans on leaving the website up as long as people keep visiting and have a continued interest.

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/campus/2011/03/29/student-creates-website-to-observe-afflicted-green-street

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/housing/2011-03-27/developers-discuss-planned-champaign-project.html

Developers discuss planned Champaign project
Sun, 03/27/2011 - 12:00pm | Don Dodson

Photo by: The News-Gazette

Artist's rendering of the proposed Eden Supportive Living apartment building in downtown Champaign.


CHAMPAIGN -- The Book of Genesis makes no reference to an orange waterfall in Eden. But in the modern Eden, there will be.

That's right. When Eden Supportive Living opens a 150-unit apartment building for the physically disabled in downtown Champaign in mid-2012, it's expected to have a nine-story waterfall flowing into a reflecting pool.
And on Illini game days, Mitch Hamblet, the president of Eden Supportive Living, says the waterfall will be illuminated with orange light.

Obviously, this is no ordinary apartment building.

The community, licensed for residents 22 to 64 years old, is slated to have a fully accessible exercise and yoga facility on the ninth floor and a garden terrace as well.

On the third floor will be a theater, music studio and training kitchen for cooking classes all designed for people with disabilities. There will also be a "cyber lounge" equipped with computers.

Hamblet, 40, and his father, Mike, 70, were in town last week to discuss the $15.5 million apartment community. The building, to be constructed on the site of the Robeson Realty office at 222 N. State St., C, will overlook West Side Park.

The Hamblets are no stranger to the concept. The family-owned business has two other communities for the physically disabled in Chicago and North Aurora one with 156 units, the other with 135 and is planning another in Chicago's South Shore Neighborhood.

Supportive living communities fill the gap between skilled care and independent living. It's an environment where people can pretty much live on their own, with help available if and when they need it.

But until six years ago, virtually all supportive living communities in Illinois were designed for people 65 and older.

The Hamblets who had family members with multiple sclerosis felt younger people needed supportive living services too. Otherwise, their only alternative might be a nursing home.

Eden's goal was to provide places where younger adults with disabilities could enjoy "a condo-like lifestyle."

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/health/health-care/2011-03-16/company-plans-155-million-building-disabled-downtown-champaign.ht


http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2011/03/15/20110316-100914-pic-453667306.jpg

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/campus/2011/04/05/zorba-s-hopes-to-rebuild-timeline-unclear


Zorba’s hopes to rebuild, timeline unclear
Hannah Meisel News writer
New Posted: April 5th, 2011 - 9:55 AM
Updated: April 5th, 2011 - 10:33 AM
Tagged with: Campus, Champaign-Urbana, Green St. Fire, Matt Mortenson, University of Illinois, Zorba's, Champaign-Urbana

Almost two weeks after Zorba's owner Matt Mortenson called 911 after spotting smoke above his restaurant, the future of his business is still unclear.

Mortenson has been busy cleaning up the restaurant, throwing out food and other items damaged by water, he said.

He hopes to rebuild, but is unsure of when that effort would get underway.

“I would hope to rebuild but am on hold, waiting for insurance people, architects, (the) property owner, etc.,” Mortenson said in an e-mail. “As far as I know, my landlord will help me rebuild, but it's too early yet to say for sure how this will play out.”

Mortenson described his lack of control in the situation as “not a very comforting feeling” but wanted to thank his supporters helping him through the crisis.

“(There has) been an amazing wave of support from fans of Zorba's, very genuine, heartfelt care and concern, and I'm riding that wave as I deal with all this craziness,” he said.

Zorba’s had been at 627 E. Green St. since 1973, and Mortenson had worked there since 1982 and became an owner in 1997.

Very confusing, I erased a news article about a piece
of World Trade Center going to Urbana, Ohio
which happens to be in Champaign County Ohio!

So when I google news Champaign Urbana,
I get the Urbana Citizen newspaper, very funny.....

weird

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbana,_Ohio

University installs new security cameras to combat crimeEmily Waldron News staff writer
Posted: April 13th, 2011 - 12:44 AM
Updated: April 13th, 2011 - 12:44 AM

http://www.dailyillini.com/news/campus/2011/04/13/university-installs-new-security-cameras-to-combat-crime

The number of University Housing security cameras has increased this semester and will continue to increase in the future.

“They’ll catch a lot of crime if they’re used correctly,” she said.

Frost said he believes that in order to reduce crime, all the cameras need is acknowledgment.

“What we need is one high profile case that gets solved with these cameras, and people are going to start to realize that you can’t do a heck of a whole lot on campus without being caught on camera.”

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/people/2011-04-17/abe-lincoln-really-did-sleep-here.html

Abe Lincoln really did sleep hereSun, 04/17/2011 - 10:00am | Patrick Wade

Photo by: John Dixon/The News-Gazette

George Gasyna and Sarah Nixon stand outside their home on Illinois Street in Urbana with the family pet Elfie on April 13, 2011. The house belonged to former Urbana mayor Ezekiel Boyden and is the only known existing house in Urbana where Abraham Lincoln is documented to have visited.

URBANA -- When Sarah Nixon and George Gasyna moved to Urbana in 2006, the home they found on Illinois Street was a fixer-upper, to say the least.

The only history of the house came from what their neighbors could relay to them: Before they moved in, it was falling apart and a blight to the neighborhood. It had for decades been a party house to college students, and a broken window had gone unrepaired for years in the attic (where they found evidence that animals had taken residence, too).

There was no way that the home would have been fit for an early mayor of Urbana, they thought, let alone a visiting place for one of the greatest presidents in the nation's history.

But subtle clues had Nixon wondering where it had come from -- just a small, plain cottage, the house is very humble compared to some of the others on their block. The structure did not match its foundation perfectly, and city records seemed to show that the house appeared out of nowhere.

"I tracked the history down to this mysterious gap," Nixon said. "Between 1900 and 1904, suddenly a house appears."

Her research stalled when she could not find the records -- it would not be until a couple years later that a researcher would inform Nixon and Gasyna that the home is much older and has a much richer history than they originally thought.

"It was crazy shocking," Gasyna said.

Now that they know it was home to Urbana's second mayor, Ezekiel Boyden, a political supporter and occasional host to Abraham Lincoln, they are awaiting a landmark designation from the city council and look forward to rehabilitating the home they estimate to be more than 150 years old.

It is generally believed that Lincoln stayed in many hotels or homes in Urbana as he made his rounds as a lawyer on the state's eighth judicial circuit. When a project that Urbana resident Stewart Berlocher initiated as a way for the Boy Scouts in the troop he led to earn their American heritage merit badges melded with his fascination with Lincoln, the search was on to find a home where he stayed.

"I took it as a personal challenge to find a Lincoln house," Berlocher said.

Through his research, Berlocher found the Ezekiel Boyden home and "unambiguous references" that confirmed Lincoln had spent at least a couple nights there when he passed through Urbana. And in Urbana, Nixon and Gasyna's home is the only documented survivor.

Two newspaper accounts confirm Lincoln's stay at the home on Sept. 24, 1858, Berlocher said, the night after Lincoln gave a campaign speech at the Champaign County fairgrounds.

Berlocher quoted the newspaper reports in an article he wrote for the March issue of the Journal of Illinois History: "The meeting broke up, formed in procession, and escorted Mr. Lincoln to his lodgings, at the residence of Mayor Boyden, where his lady attendants, and all, parted from him with rapturous cheers," according to an Oct. 2, 1858, story in the Chicago Weekly Democrat.

A second report in the Central Illinois Gazette on Sept. 29, 1858, confirms it, too: "During Mr. Lincoln's stay in West Urbana (later Champaign) he was the guest of our fellow citizen J.W. Baddeley Esq., whose hospitable mansion for the time kept wide awake by songs, speeches, and enthusiastic cheering. In Urbana we are informed that Mayor Boyden did the honors of the town for the distinguished visitor, and we doubt not that he took away with him the most agreeable impressions of our sister corporation."

Another account, Berlocher found, was written by Henry Clay Whitney in a book about Lincoln's time on the judicial circuit. The writing may convey that the weakness of a soon-to-be president who would change the direction of the country was evident in his presence with women: "I recollect of his being invited to tea, at the same time my family was, at the home of Mr. Boyden, then the Mayor of Urbana ... and he got along so-so while I was present: but in a few moments I was called to the outer gate to speak with a client: and upon my return, Lincoln appeared as demoralized and ill at ease as a bashful country boy. He would put his arms behind him, and bring them to the front again, as if trying to hide them, and he tried apparently but in vain to get his long legs out of sight. And yet no one was present but Mrs. Boyden, and my wife and her mother."

That Boyden lived there is notable, too. He served as Urbana's second mayor from 1856 to 1857 and the city's fourth mayor from 1858 to 1859. He later fought in the Civil War from 1861 to 1862, when he delisted because of an unspecified injury, according to Berlocher.

The home where these events took place, however, is not in its original location. Through analyzing early maps and early-19th century news reports, Berlocher said the Boyden home was moved from where it was constructed at 303 W. Elm St. to its current location at 404 W. Illinois St. around 1899. That explains why the home does not match the others on the block and why it is not a perfect fit for its foundation.

Many of its features have been changed -- a wing was added, and the interior has been altered many times. Berlocher believes external decorations that would have been common to the period have been removed, but he is pleading with residents to scour ancestors' photo albums to see if there is an original photo of the house.

A fresh coat of blue paint and a couple of cherry-colored lounge chairs on the front porch have really brought the home back to life, Nixon said she is told by her neighbors. The change of location and decor does not alter the way the owners feel about its history.

"Clearly he was here," Gasyna said. "He spent nights in one of these rooms."

"You do wander around and wonder, 'Which room was he in?'" Nixon said.


http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2011/04/16/20110415-170252-pic-507458737.jpg

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/community-events/2011-04-25/ebert-couldnt-resist-adding-13th-entry-his-a

Ebert couldn't resist adding a 13th entry to his annual film festival
Mon, 04/25/2011 - 2:02pm | Melissa Merli
Not too long after announcing the 12-movie lineup for the upcoming Roger Ebert's Film Festival, Ebert added another movie: "Natural Selection."

It will be shown at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, after the festival opener, the silent classic "Metropolis," with live accompaniment by the Alloy Orchestra, a staple at the festival, now in its 13th year.

Ebert decided to add director Robbie Pickering's "Natural Selection" after seeing it last month at the SXSW Film Festival. The critic was a member of the festival jury, which gave the movie the Grand Jury Prize and awards for editing, sound, screenplay and two breakthrough performances, those of Rachael Harris and Matt O'Leary. The movie also won the Audience Award.

"No, it's not about Darwin's Theory or perhaps in a way it is," Ebert wrote for the Ebertfest program. "It's about a dogged, lovable woman who wants her husband's child in one way or another."

Will the Pulitzer Prize-winning movie critic add more films to 2011 Ebertfest, running from Wednesday through next Sunday at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign?

"No more films. No room for them! If I got started, I'd have 20," he said via email.

One of C-U's premier entertainment events, the 2011 Ebertfest, a special event of the University of Illinois College of Media, will feature a mix of eight newer and older feature films, three documentaries, a silent film and the animated "My Dog Tulip."

Moviegoers will have two chances to see one of the docs, "Louder Than a Bomb."

Ebert will show it at noon on the final day of the festival, and the Champaign County Anti-Stigma Alliance will screen it after that, around 4 p.m. next Sunday.

Young poets from Steinmetz High School in Chicago will perform after the festival screening, and local poets will recite after the Anti-Stigma Alliance screening.

The onstage guests with the documentary will include director Jon Siskel, Gene Siskel's nephew.

"He has grown into a considerable filmmaker," Ebert wrote. "His 'Louder Than a Bomb' was a labor of love filmed over some years, challenging many accepted ideas about inner-city high schools and the whole half-understood-but-quickly-growing world of poetry slams (which began in Chicago, by the way)."

Once again, Ebert's wife, Chaz, will emcee and act as host of the five-day festival. Ebert, who lost his speaking voice a few years ago as a result of complications following cancer surgery, said he will use his computer and text-to-voice software and appear on stage "a little."

"We'll also have some exciting new faces on stage, including contributors to 'Ebert Presents' and additional Far-Flung Correspondents," he said.

"Ebert Presents at the Movies" is the critic's new TV series, with co-hosts Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com. Vishnevetsky will attend Ebertfest for the first time; Lemire came last year.

Among other guests this year: actress Tilda Swinton and directors Richard Linklater, Norman Jewison and Tim Blake Nelson, also a character actor.

Festival director Nate Kohn, who like Ebert is an Urbana native, said at least half of the movies will be shown digitally, on a high-quality digital projection system.

"The ones not shown digitally will be 35mm; we have no 70 mm film this year," Kohn said.

Ebert will show the complete version of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis," which was long thought to be lost.

"But in 2008 a nearly complete 16mm print was miraculously discovered in Buenos Aries, and we will see it this year with a new score created by the Alloy Orchestra," Ebert wrote.

Also new this year: The Art Theater, a couple of blocks from the Virginia, will show some of the 2011 Ebertfest films and some of the hits from past Ebertfests. (Please see sidebar.)

"I'm especially happy to include the Art, which has a special role in the community," Ebert said.

Also new: There will be a pre-festival screening of "American Movie" (1999) on Tuesday evening at Foellinger Auditorium on the UI Quad, with director Mark Borchardt in person. Ebert showed the indie film at his 2000 festival.

So what does Ebert, the benevolent overlord of his annual festival, most look forward to in coming back?

"Seeing familiar faces. And I'm not just saying that. I mean it," he said.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-04-23/development-planned-fifth-park.html

CHAMPAIGN -- Kenwood Sullivan hopes the new apartment and commercial building he's planning at Fifth and Park streets helps trigger more development in the area.

Sullivan, the owner of Sullivan Plumbing, plans to build the $1.2 million, two-story structure at the southwest corner of Fifth and Park cater-corner from Salem Baptist Church and just down the street from Bethel A.M.E. Church.

Until recently, the lot was occupied by a single-story building that once housed a seed-corn business and was probably best known for a mural that graced its wall.Sullivan's new building will face Park Street, and its main level will have 4,400 square feet of leasable space for clinical, professional or business use. That level can divided into either two or four offices, he said.

The second story will have four apartments, each 1,100 square feet, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Each apartment will have a private balcony.The apartments will be targeted at young professionals who work nearby, Sullivan said.
The location is close to downtown Champaign, the University of Illinois and Provena Covenant and Carle hospitals, allowing residents to walk or ride their bikes to work.

Residents will also have access to a rooftop terrace that includes a trellis for shade. But they won't be visible from street level.
Apartment rents haven't been determined, but Sullivan said they'll probably be in the $1,500 range. Construction is expected to begin next week, and Sullivan hopes it will be complete by the end of the year.

The building, designed by Champaign-based Weger and Associates, will have beige and brown tones on the exterior, with masonry on the first floor and siding on the second floor. A parking lot to the south will be screened off with a masonry wall. The main entrance to the building will be from Park Street, but businesses will have their own entrances on the east and west sides.Sullivan said he has photos of the mural that was on the site, and he hopes to feature them in the building's lobby. The mural, which had an African-American history theme, was created in 1978 by neighborhood residents under the coordination of Angela Rivers.

http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2011/04/22/20110422-165005-pic-850811042.jpg

It's Your Business: Illini Inn changes hands
Sun, 04/24/2011 - 12:00pm | Christine Des Garennes
The Illini Inn on campus has new owners.

John Rinkenberger Jr., who owns the Village Inn Pizza Parlor in west Champaign, purchased the tavern at 901 S. Fourth St., C, with friend Sean Ackerson. The two have owned the upstairs pizza joint, Stone Baked Pizza, for the last three years, and Rinkenberger said it made sense to buy the bar too."The main draw for us is, we like things with tradition and things that have had a good name in the past," said Rinkenberger, who grew up in Urbana and attended Illinois State University. "We're very excited to own it."

The Illini Inn, one of the older bars on campus, is known for its "Mug Club," in which members traditionally chug their first mug of beer while other patrons in the bar cheer them on.Right now, no food is served at the bar. That will change."We are planning on putting a full-scale menu in the bar," he said. Items like pizza, calzones and sandwiches will be made available, probably when students return to campus in late August, he said.

The Illini Inn is a small bar; the capacity is 75. No major renovations are planned, however; in the future, the new owners plan to update the bathrooms."We're a place to hang out and talk. ... to talk to your buddy about what went on during the day," Rinkenberger said.

The pizza business, located on the second floor, is known mostly for its pizza sold by the slice during the late hours.Rinkenberger said he plans to continue operating Village Inn Pizza.

Now open

Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works is now open in downtown Champaign.

The long-awaited restaurant on the south side of M2, at 301 N. Neil St., opened to the public Wednesday after a soft opening a few days earlier.

The 9,000-square-foot "gastrobrewery," as owner Matt Potts has called it, is the second location for Destihl, which started in Normal.The menu features steaks, seafood, pizzas, sandwiches, salads and more. Beer is brewed on-site, and diners can view the operation from the dining area. The brewery is releasing 17 beers for the opening.

Construction began in the fall after several delays, including repair work needed on M2 following the fire that burned down the Metropolitan Building across the street.

The Champaign restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Brunches are offered on the weekend. Destihl can be reached at 356-0301 or http://www.destihl.com.

Two other restaurants, an Irish pub and a Mongolian-style stir-fry, are planned for the north side of M2. Those building permits were issued last week by the city of Champaign.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-05-04/major-expansion-planned-fedex-ground-champaign.html

Major expansion planned for FedEx Ground in Champaign
Wed, 05/04/2011 - 8:00am | Don Dodson
CHAMPAIGN -- FedEx Ground plans to make a major expansion to its Champaign hub over the next year, a company spokesman told The News-Gazette this week.

The expansion in the Apollo Subdivision in north Champaign could lead to an increase in jobs, though the company hasn't specified how many.

Construction of the addition is getting under way and should be complete by late summer of 2012, Westrick said.

The 97,600-square-foot addition will expand the hub to about 250,000 square feet, said Mark Dixon, director of real estate for the industrial, office and retail division of The Atkins Group, which developed the Apollo Subdivision.

"It's a significant project strategically for their operation, and we're appreciative of their investment here in Champaign," he said. "This proves again that FedEx is an anchor employer for our community."

So far, the only building permit issued for the project is for a fuel canopy at the site, 102 E. Mercury Drive, with a projected cost of $541,545. But permits for footing and foundations have also been issued.

The FedEx Ground facility, located on 42 acres at the northeast corner of North Market Street and Mercury Drive, began operations in June 1999.

At the outset, the hub employed about 90-full-timers, 50 independent contractors and 250 part-time package handlers. By 2003, it employed between 300 to 310 people.

According to the 2010 edition of the Champaign County Economic Development Corp.'s Top Employers Directory, employment at the hub stood at 380 last year.

"The project is part of an ongoing expansion of the overall FedEx Ground U.S. network," Westrick said, noting the company has 32 hubs in the United States and Canada.

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/05/mayor_prussing_announces_proposed_highspeed_rail_will_go_through_champaign

:banana::banana::banana::banana:
:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

Mayor Prussing announces proposed high-speed rail will go through Champaign

In other business, Mayor Prussing updated city council about the state of a potential high-speed rail between Chicago and St. Louis.

Prussing said she attended a meeting of the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association, where she learned that the proposed high-speed track, which was originally planned to go through Normal, Ill., will now be built through Champaign because of technological insufficiencies in Normal’s railway track.

Since the railway had been announced to go through Normal, $200 million dollars were invested in the town, Prussing said.

“So you can imagine what it would be like for Champaign and Urbana,” she said, noting the positive economic impact.

The high-speed railway will cut the travel time between Chicago and St. Louis from more than three hours down to one hour and 55 minutes, Prussing said.

I recently saw this special on Pbs, very interesting.
I had no idea about this case.
"That atheist woman" lived at 1118 w John in Champaign, IL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCollum_v._Board_of_Education

http://www.pbs.org/programs/lord-is-not-on-trial-here-today/

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-05-11/downtown-champaign-ymca-site-may-become-mansion-again.html

Downtown Champaign YMCA site may become mansion again


05/11/2011 - 7:00am | Don Dodson

CHAMPAIGN — The Champaign County YMCA has sold its historic building on West Church Street to a developer who hopes to renovate the original mansion as a private residence.

Leon Jeske, who purchased the property Tuesday, told The News-Gazette he would like to restore the mansion and lease it out.

He also hopes to establish separate uses for the adjoining gymnasium and swimming pool complexes, as well as the carriage house to the west.

"I'm really not planning on destroying anything or tearing anything down," Jeske said, noting the Y isn't expected to move out until early 2012. "I'll take time and see what my options are."

Mark Johnson, the Y's chief executive officer, said the Y sold the building and surrounding property at 500 W. Church St., C, for $450,000.

The property has been on and off the market for several years, as the YMCA orchestrated its move to a new facility in southwest Champaign.

Johnson said he was glad to see the sale go through.

"It's nice to have that part of it out of the way," he said. "It wasn't going to stop us from opening our (new) building ... but we'll be in better financial shape because of it."

The YMCA is building its new 75,000-square-foot facility on the south side of Windsor Road, just west of the Interstate 57 overpass. It's near Zahnd Park and the Windsor West apartment community.

"Most of the parking lots are done. The walls of the main gym are just about complete, and we're erecting steel for other parts of the building," Johnson said.

The Y decided to make a few design changes at the new facility, expanding the lap pool from six to eight lanes, and expanding the fitness center from 7,000 to 9,000 square feet.

So far, the Y has raised about $13 million of the estimated $17 million in costs associated with the new project, he said.

Jeske has renovated several homes and apartment buildings in central Champaign, including buildings at 606 W. Church St. and 705 W. Healey St.

The Cattle Bank building at the northeast corner of First Street and University Avenue was one of his early renovation projects.

More recently, he renovated the former Neil Street Hotel building at the northwest corner of Neil and Washington streets, for apartments and commercial space.

Jeske called the Y's site on Church Street "a great piece of property" with views of West Side Park.





The original mansion dates from 1909-10, when it was built as the home of David and Rachel Phillippe. Mrs. Phillippe was the daughter of influential Champaign banker B.F. Harris.

A citizens' group bought the home in 1938 for use as a YMCA, using a bequest from the late Sen. William B. McKinley.

The property was long known as the McKinley Memorial YMCA. Today it's one of two facilities the Champaign County YMCA uses — the other being the Fitness & Family Center at 707 N. Country Fair Drive, C.

Jeske said he doesn't know at this point how much it may cost to renovate the Church Street property. He said the windows need replacing, as do clay tiles on the roof.

Work needs to be done on the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, and it needs to be determined whether a slow leak in one of the swimming pools can be repaired.

But he said many of the mansion's architectural features are intact or can be restored. Among the features are crown molding, stained-glass windows and terrazzo floors in some sections of the building.

Construction set on Carle expansion

Tue, 05/17/2011 - 8:00am | Debra Pressey

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/health/health-care/2011-05-17/construction-set-carle-expansion.html

URBANA — Construction is about to get under way on Carle Foundation Hospital's $220 million campus expansion.

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday on Park Street west of the hospital.

The new building, to be located next to the north tower on the central Urbana hospital campus, is expected to be completed in 2013, said Carle spokeswoman Jennifer Hendricks.

Plans call for a new nine-story, 390,000-square-foot tower that will include the Carle Heart and Vascular Institute, all Carle's vascular procedure labs and 136 private rooms for medical-surgical and intensive-care patients.

Those new rooms will replace 136 rooms in an older section of the hospital that date back to the 1960s and 1970s.

The new tower will be the largest and most advanced Carle facility, Carle officials said, adding that it will bring more space for updated technology, improved facilities for patient care, diagnosis and treatment and a more modern, comfortable environment.

The project will be financed with a mix of bonds, private donations and cash, and have a $100 million projected impact on the local economy.

That includes construction jobs over the next two years for 100 to 150 workers, with peak construction staffing projected to be 250 workers.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/features/its-your-business/2011-05-15/its-your-business-new-bar-opens-downtown-champai

It's Your Business: New bar opens in downtown Champaign
Sun, 05/15/2011 - 12:00pm | Christine Des Garennes

Downtown Champaign recently welcomed a new watering hole to its lineup of bars.

The long-vacant Lox Stock & Bagel space at Neil and Chester streets is now home to Quality, a place where people can choose from more than 100 different beers, including many microbrews from around the U.S. It opened April 30.

"We just wanted to be a very good bar," said Neil Van Natta, who owns the bar with his younger brother, Aaron Van Natta. At the same time, though, "I wanted to do something different," he said.

Their focus is on American craft beers. On tap they feature 16 of these beers, usually a few pale ales, a wheat beer, stout and others. The beers on tap, such as from Two Brothers Brewing Company and Flossmoor Station of Illinois and Founders Brewing of Michigan, will rotate.

The renovated interior features a new bar, tables and benches for seating. Seating also is available on the patio. Inside, you'll find exposed brick walls, southern pine and alder paneling and the original hardwood floors that have been sanded and restained. Other features include a Ms. Pac-Man game, dartboards and bookshelves.

Both brothers hail from Watseka, where their father and late grandfather have run Quality Grocery. Neil was in New York City working as a freelance film editor when he decided to open a bar. It was something he always had in the back of his mind as something he wanted to do, he said.

Then one day Neil decided, "Let's just do it." He called his brother Aaron, then in school at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind., and Aaron said the idea of working at a bar with his brother sounded better than anything else he had been considering.

The two began scouting places. They had fond memories of coming to downtown Champaign, watching movies at the Art Theater and eating at The Great Impasta when it was located on Church Street. They decided on 110 N. Neil St., which had been vacant since the bagel and sandwich shop closed in 1995.

They decided to stay away from serving food for two reasons: They didn't know much about preparing food, and Neil said he did not like to eat and drink beer at the same time.

Quality is open at 3 p.m. daily and can be reached at 359-3425.

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/05/lincoln_building_provides_home_for_aspiring_artists#

Lincoln Building provides home for aspiring artistsShareThisShare on

Danny Wicentowski The Daily Illini Contact me
Posted: May 17, 2011 - 9:59 PM
Updated: May 22, 2011 - 8:40 PM

Jesse Beyler stands at the top of a narrow purple staircase. Using her hands as leverage, Beyler straddles her legs over the blue handrails and slides down the railings at a harrowing 60-degree angle to the first floor.

Her studio, two levels and tiny, sits perched atop the Lincoln Building. Looking out of the two functioning windows of the art-strewn room, she can see Champaign County stretch out for miles.

Beyler is one of around 15 artists that inhabit the Lincoln Building in downtown Champaign, 44 E. Main St., a hub of the city’s emerging art presence.

Like most of the other artists in the building, she only moved in within the last five years.

A combination of cheap rent and a shortage of studio spaces in Champaign has led to a boom of studios opening up in the century-old building that, for most of its existence, housed professionals and businessmen.

Beyler said just the knowledge that other artists are working in the building encourages her.“Even if we don’t see each other, which we do occasionally, it’s the feeling of ‘Oh, I’m not crazy, there are other people doing this,’” she said.

Robert Chapman fell in love with the Lincoln Building on his first visit to a Christmas show held there in 2009. “(When) I got up to the fourth floor and was walking down a hallway, and the sun was streaming in during the afternoon, it was like I was in love with the building,” he said.Chapman, who maintains gallery space with three other artists, said that his favorite feature of the Lincoln Building is the tall, early to mid-20th century windows that remind him of the paintings of Edward Hopper. Chapman said that it is important for an artist to maintain a private space to work on art. “A lot of (artists) don’t have a place at home where they can be messy or junky. … I think the building allows them to do that,” he said.

Beth Darling, who shares studio space with Chapman, has become something of an unofficial realtor for potential studio spaces in the building. As older tenants began moving out, the building manager asked her to bring more artists in. However, Darling said that the dearth of gallery space has made it difficult for full-time artists to thrive in Champaign.“There just isn’t enough commercial gallery space, and maybe it’s the economy overall,” Darling said. “I know a handful of people who do support themselves from their art, and the recent economy of the last three years has made their lives miserable.”

Darling and Chapman both spoke of harnessing the growing community of artists in the Lincoln Building to combat this problem. Chapman suggested that the artists could create a cooperative gallery, or put on monthly open studios for the public. Chapman said these kinds of measures could help redefine Champaign as more than just a “backwater” to the Chicago art scene.

Kelly White, the programs and marketing manager for 40 North, said the Lincoln Building represents the vibrant center of the arts in Champaign.

“It’s kind of where art lives, and it lives there all the time,” White said.
White acknowledged that gallery space is probably a local artist’s greatest need. In fact, White herself ran the Verde gallery before it closed. She said she hoped artist cooperation and the success of local art festivals would spur the creation of more spaces for artists to show their work.

Today, 40 North fills that need, operating as the arts, culture and entertainment council for Champaign County.

Marci Dodds, Champaign City Council member, District 4, said gallery space needs to be fostered on its own and such problems are best confronted by the community of artists themselves. Dodds also pointed to cooperative galleries, such as the one in Urbana, as a possible solution for the artists here in Champaign.

Dodds said the presence of art in Champaign also helps the University.

“Especially for this town, having an arts presence helps the U of I recruit and retain people who would normally not necessarily come out to the University of Illinois to teach or learn,” Dodds said.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/parks-and-recreation/2011-05-22/urbana-considers-transforming-boneyard-amenity.html

Urbana considers transforming Boneyard into amenity
Sun, 05/22/2011 - 9:00am | Patrick Wade

Photo by: Foth Infrastructure and Environment
Drawing of potential project on the Boneyard in Urbana.

URBANA — The Boneyard Creek in downtown Urbana is nearly invisible — guarded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire and surrounded by vegetation, the only evidence of occasional human presence is a few instances of graffiti on the sheets of aluminum that line its banks.

In its current path between Race Street and Broadway Avenue, it serves its purpose as a storm water drainage channel, but nothing more. A sign at the entrance to an old wooden bridge that once allowed trains to cross the creek now poses a stern warning: "DO NOT ENTER."

But city officials are hoping that a $7.3 million beautification project will reverse that warning and make the creek — and, by association, the surrounding business district — more inviting for pedestrians within the next few years.

"Right now, a lot of people don't even know the creek exists because it's so carefully hidden," said Urbana civil engineer Brad Bennett.And that is no mistake — historically, the city has not wanted people to get near the creek because of the safety risks it poses.But in recent years, there has been a shift in thinking, Bennett said. It might be part of an "environmental awakening.""People are looking for a way to connect with nature," Bennett said.

Under a conceptual plan developed by outside engineering consultants and landscape architects, the city hopes to open the creek to pedestrians, upgrade the streets that surround it and provide connections between the waterway and adjacent businesses.

The idea is to make the Boneyard Creek an amenity in downtown Urbana instead of the dirty storm water channel the city has been trying to hide.
"We're trying to create a balance between public safety and the ability for people to get close enough to the creek to enjoy it," said Greg Kacvinsky, one of the consultants from Foth Infrastructure and Environment, with whom city officials have been working.

In the conceptual design, the creek would be lined with pathways that nearly touch the creek. An overlook could be built near the intersection of Race and Griggs streets, and the old wooden bridge that used to serve trains could be re-purposed as a pedestrian crossing.Farther upstream, space could be made for a small amphitheater just outside the Station Theatre, and a creek crossing could connect to what planners hope will become an outdoor patio at the Silvercreek Restaurant.

Allen Strong, the owner of Silvercreek, said he has been looking forward to the Boneyard Creek improvements for 20 years."When I built the restaurant, that was 20 years ago, I thought that would be the spark that could ignite some movement in the area for redevelopment," Strong said.He said his restaurant has become a destination — customers seek it out. But he might not get the walk-in business from customers who do not know exactly what they are looking for that a business might enjoy in a more vibrant part of the downtown."There aren't a whole lot of people walking around there every day," Strong said. "But there could be."City officials are hoping the upgrades will create a connection between University Avenue and the more established section of downtown Urbana, and Strong said the new amenity could go a long way to improve the atmosphere in the immediate area.Now, "people have to overcome the rundown infrastructure and atmosphere to enjoy the restaurant," Strong said.

What engineers have made clear is that this is not a flood-control project, like the Boneyard Creek improvements the city of Champaign made along the Second Street reach. The engineers simply do not have enough room to work.
"You've got a storm water channel in a tight urban area, so space is always an issue," Bennett said.But the improvements are designed not to make anything worse, Kacvinsky said.

Planners still have to nail down the final design of lighting, benches and other materials that are to be used. Kacvinsky said they gathered comments at public meetings regarding "the general feel of the park setting."

"We changed some of the layout to match some of the comments received at the public meetings, moved the path around a little bit, but we didn't have to change too much because it was pretty well received from the beginning," Kacvinsky said.

And a big project still remaining is finalizing designs and structural engineering of the surrounding street improvements. Workers will upgrade Race Street and Broadway Avenue, which essentially bookend the creek improvements. When it is finished, those streets are expected to be more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly.

Public safety was among the concerns some city council members expressed when the conceptual design was presented to them this month. During strong storms, the creek will still rise high enough to overtake the pathways.
But engineers say pedestrians will have plenty of time and nearby exits to escape the rising water. Statistics suggest the pathways will flood a few times every year."It'll be a while for it (the water) to come up," Bennett said. "It won't be instantaneous."

Engineers will spend the next nine to 12 months finalizing their plans and preparing information for potential bidders. Construction could begin next spring with completion in fall 2014.

City officials have long-term plans to make similar improvements along three other segments of the creek near downtown Urbana.For now, they are focused on unlocking this segment of the Boneyard Creek.
"The thinking was to connect people with the creek, provide them with access," Bennett said.

http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2011/05/21/20110520-113138-pic-399980536.jpg

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/miscellaneous/2011-05-31/over-decades-city-traded-buildings-parking.html

Over decades, city traded buildings for parking
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 8:06am | Patrick Wade


CHAMPAIGN — Imagine downtown Champaign with three times as many buildings as it has now.

In the 1950s, businesses lined Walnut Street north of Main Street, and the western area of Champaign's downtown was populated with building footprints and rooftops — not pavement, as much of it is today. A flatiron block at the corner of Washington and Neil streets has been razed without a trace.

But to imagine all those buildings, you'll also have to imagine the downtown area with about one-third the amount of available parking. Developers sacrificed eight buildings on that flatiron block for 144 parking spaces in what is now a city lot. Dozens more were installed in lieu of shops on Walnut Street, and you should not have a problem finding a space near the Virginia Theatre.

The demolitions started in the '50s, when cars were only getting bigger and more popular.

"The shift happened, and we lost half the downtown," said city planner T.J. Blakeman. "And we're still paying the price for it today."

Today, if you walk from PNC Bank at the corner of Walnut and Main streets to Guido's restaurant at Neil and Main, you'll pass a sportswear shop and a real estate brokerage office along the way. Most of your time will be spent crossing a parking lot.

In 1959, if you made that same walk, you would have passed a hardware store, a furniture shop, three clothing stores, three shoe stores and a jeweler.

"Downtown Champaign in 1951 was the North Prospect of East Central Illinois," Blakeman said. "That's where you came."

Today, people plan trips to go shopping in Chicago, Blakeman said. Back then, residents of East Central Illinois planned trips to go shopping in downtown Champaign.

"All the things that downtown used to have, we don't have any more," Blakeman said.

The city's campaigns since the 1990s have been focused on bringing people back to downtown Champaign. A tax increment financing district — a special fund used to inject more property tax dollars and investment into a particular area — has helped city officials redevelop parts of the downtown and encourage business infill during that time.

The city council approved a provision that allows cafes to operate outdoor seating, like those that line Walnut Street north of University Avenue. And special ordinances allowed outdoor plazas, like the alley behind a string of businesses just east of Neil Street.

It is all meant to give customers and businesses a sense of place.

"I think what we lost in 1969 was this idea that people want to have this intimate connection with the place that they're in," Blakeman said.

A 1969 downtown plan could have made Champaign's core very different than it is today. That was about the time that Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana had been built, and Champaign was looking to build a mall of its own.

According to the plan, it would have been right in the center of the downtown area. The new mall would have closed Neil Street, and expansive, elevated parking decks would have formed its wings, dominating a huge portion of the city's core.

It was a pretty extreme idea at the time, and Blakeman said it makes even less sense in retrospect.

"I guess it's lucky for us that they didn't do it," Blakeman said. "It's unlucky for us that they started those plans."

Even though the downtown Champaign indoor mall was never built, an outdoor pedestrian mall opened in 1975 when officials closed a portion of Neil Street between Main and Chester streets. The goal was to bring people to the center of town, but instead it just pushed everyone away. Drivers were forced to take Randolph and State streets and avoid the core of downtown.

"It just choked off downtown," Blakeman said. The pedestrian mall closed and Neil Street was reopened in 1986.

Even before that time, parking was in high demand and a popular issue. Mayoral candidates purchased full-page newspaper advertisements explaining their plans to increase parking.

And they delivered. When Market Place Mall was built in the 1970s, an entire city flatiron block at Neil and Washington streets was demolished to make way for parking at what was then Sears and Roebuck, just a few doors down from the Orpheum Theatre. City officials were trying to convince the owners to stay in downtown Champaign.

Not long after, Sears moved anyway to the mall, where parking was virtually unlimited.

Fires have taken their toll, too. Many downtown buildings have burned and were replaced with parking lots. After a fire in the 1980s, the land where the One Main development now stands could have gone that way, too, had city planners not waged a silent battle to save the precious real estate.

The land was turned into a temporary parking lot after the 1987 fire. A development agreement to build One Main was a tough sell to the drivers who had been parking there.

A more recent fire has left a hole burned at the corner of Church and Neil streets, where the Metropolitan Building used to stand. Some have been wondering why it is still an empty hole surround by a chain-link fence.

"That's the reason the Metro Building isn't a parking lot," Blakeman said. "We don't want to fight that battle."

But even with all the pavement, vacancies still exist in downtown buildings today. And with an economy experiencing a painfully slow recovery, it is questionable whether the local economy could support such density downtown.

Blakeman said the downtown "never will meet New York City density, where you don't need a car." But with the encouragement of city policies, the downtown could look more like it did in the 1950s, though he admits that maybe it is an ambitious plan.

"You need those places to keep the engine going," Blakeman said.

See Patrick Wade's blog for more photos and maps of downtown over time.

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http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/quinn-university-illinois-high-speed-rail-123047393.html


Chicago to Champaign-Urbana in Less Than an Hour?

Would linking Chicago to Champaign-Urbana, where one of the state's signature universities is located, improve the economy by creating jobs and increasing access to higher education?

Gov. Pat Quinn wants to know, and on Thursday he announced a study to find answers.

"Illinois is leading the nation with our work to expand high-speed and passenger rail," he said at a meeting in Chicago with the U.S. High Speed Rail Association.

"This study will provide greater insight into how we can make 220-mph rail service a reality. An expanded and improved rail network will boost our position in the global economy and create thousands of jobs."

A high-speed train from Chicago to Champaign-Urbana in less than an hour could transform the U of I into a "superpower university," said University of Illinois President Michael Hogan.

The study -- with findings to be presented to the governor in late 2012 -- will explore the potential costs and benefits of establishing service between O'Hare International Airport, downtown Chicago, McCormick Place, and Champaign-Urbana.

It will also look at extending the corridor in the region to cities south of Champaign-Urbana, including St. Louis and Indianapolis


Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/quinn-university-illinois-high-speed-rail-123047393.html#ixzz1OB694jfR


Another article
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-high-speed-rail-0603-20110602,0,7320320.story

Illinois launches study for 220 mph passenger rail service
State gives $1.25 million to U. of I. to examine options for bullet trains
By Jon Hilkevitch, TRIBUNE REPORTER

8:27 p.m. CDT, June 2, 2011
The University of Illinois will lead a study examining the options to build tracks exclusively for 220 mph bullet trains operating initially between Chicago and Urbana-Champaign and eventually carrying passengers the length of the state in about two hours.

Gov. Pat Quinn announced the $1.25 million state-funded study Thursday at a meeting in Chicago of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association, whose leaders have questioned the benefits of the federal government and numerous states, including Illinois, investing in train service that tops out at 110 mph.

Quinn acknowledged that building a 220 mph network will be costly and likely take up to 50 years. He compared the rail project with the construction of the nation's interstate highway system, which kicked off in 1956. Still, Quinn, 62, said he expected to see the first bullet trains operating during his lifetime, joking that he planned to live to 102.

McCormick Place "The way to prosper is to have a big vision,'' Quinn told the rail conference, adding that building a 220 mph passenger rail network will "make Champaign a suburb of Chicago. … We cannot miss the boat here, or miss the train," he said.

But the obstacles to creating bullet train service are formidable.

Construction would cost tens of billions of dollars, according to earlier studies conducted for the Midwest High Speed Rail Association. The project also would require the state and private investment partners to acquire huge amounts of land, including by using eminent-domain laws, to build dedicated tracks for 220 mph service that involve no railroad crossings or interference from slower-moving freight and commuter trains.

In addition, the debut of bullet train service could happen only after an exhaustive environmental review, and likely, costly litigation between the state and landowners and other opponents of the project.

The governor said he envisioned the bullet train route would extend from O'Hare International Airport to downtown Chicago, McCormick Place, then on through the far south suburbs to near Peotone, which the state has selected as the site of the Chicago region's next major airport, and continue on to Kankakee en route to Urbana-Champaign.

From Urbana-Champaign, home to the U. of I.'s main campus, the route would extend to either St. Louis, Indianapolis, or both, Quinn said.

The goals of the feasibility study include identifying possible routes, estimating construction and operating costs, and evaluating potential ridership, said state Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig.

The study, led by U. of I. railroad engineering professor Christopher Barkan with help from Steve Schlickman, director of the Urban Transportation Center at the U. of I. at Chicago, is expected to be completed in late 2012, officials said.

The $1.25 million study, which will be paid for using funds in the state's capital improvement program, is being launched after efforts by the state to receive an $8 million federal grant to pay for the bullet train feasibility study were rejected last year by the Federal Railroad Administration, which instead awarded funds to other projects.

Quinn's new study on bullet trains is partially aimed at quelling criticism that Illinois' passenger rail focus so far — a multibillion-dollar project to increase the top speed of Amtrak trains from 79 mph currently to 110 mph on the Chicago-to-St. Louis route — amounts to relatively minor improvements in travel time.

The current 51/2-hour Amtrak trip between Chicago and St. Louis would be trimmed by only 45 minutes with trains traveling 110 mph on part of the route, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The same trip using 220 mph trains would take a shade under two hours, according to a recent study conducted for the Midwest High Speed Rail Association.

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/05/construction_of_new_dorm_demolition_of_forbes_to_cost_64_million#

Construction of new dorm, demolition of Forbes to cost $64 million
Posted: May 31, 2011 - 9:10 PM
Updated: May 31, 2011 - 10:53 PM
Construction of residence halls, the purchase of farmland and utility deficits were discussed at a meeting of the Board of Trustees’ Audit, Budget, Finance and Facilities Committee on Tuesday. This committee meets approximately 10 days before each Board meeting.

Robert L. Plankenhorn, director of capital financing for the University, discussed the Ikenberry Commons demolition plan. He said the project is in its third stage.

The second brand-new residence hall is currently being built and will offer 450 rooms, Plankenhorn said. Forbes Hall will also be demolished as part of the plan, he added.

“Those two projects have the cost of approximately $64 million,” Plankenhorn said.

The University also acquired some more farmland that is closer to campus in the land exchange that the College of ACES currently utilizes.

Research Park at the University would also be designated as an area for further development.

Also, the University system acquired numerous financial audits that have yet to be dealt with.

The financial problems are partially due to the fact that the utilities budget in the University system has been running a deficit, said Doug Beckmann, senior associate vice president of business and finance for the University.

“There were five years in a row that we ran significant utility deficits when gas prices spiked,” Beckman said.

The Urbana campus has a utility deficit of $71 million, the Chicago campus has a deficit of $19 million and the Springfield campus has a deficit of $1 million, Beckman said.

“All three campuses have plans to eliminate the deficit over time,” he said. “Obviously the Urbana deficit will take the most time.”

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/features/its-your-business/2011-06-05/its-your-business-leasing-blue-line-station-star

It's Your Business: Leasing at Blue Line Station to start in August
Sun, 06/05/2011 - 1:00pm | The News-Gazette
Jeff Mellander says he expects to begin leasing apartments at Champaign's Blue Line Station on Aug. 15.

The building at 804 N. Neil St. was formerly the home of Sports Publishing. But Mellander acquired the building in 2009 and has been renovating it for apartments and commercial space.

So far, Mellander hasn't signed any commercial tenants, but he has two spaces on the west side he thinks would work well for restaurants or markets.

On the east end — an area once used as a car barn for the streetcar system — is space he considers well-suited for artist studios, pottery kilns, a wood shop or even an electric-car business.

Plus, there's other space that Mellander hopes to use as an incubator for small businesses.

"It's not quite as high-tech- oriented as M2 or the (University of Illinois) research park, but it's good space for businesses like advertising or graphics where cross-collaboration would be meaningful," he said.

Mellander will have his own apartment in the building, and he's leasing eight other units — six with one bedroom and two with two bedrooms.

All are two-story lofts with "industrial finishes," including exposed steel trusses. Those on the south side have balconies that open onto a "green" deck, and all apartments have access to a rooftop deck.

Apartments range from 800 to 1,275 square feet, with monthly rent starting at $1,100, Mellander said.

Blue Line Station will have long blue horizontal lights on its north and south sides, making it readily identifiable to passersby, he added.

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/06/city_of_champaign_celebrates_150_years#

City of Champaign celebrates 150 years
Kevin Dollear The Daily Illini
Posted: June 23, 2011 - 9:44 PM
Updated: June 26, 2011 - 9:22 PM

William Shi Photographer
(Click on link for PHOTO)

Local residents pose for a group portrait during the unveiling of Boneyard Creek basin as part of Champaign’s 150th anniversary on June 23, 2011.

To kick off the event, the Boneyard Creek basin was unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor Don Gerard and former mayors Jerry Schweighart and Dannel McCollum. Several people spoke at the event, including Illinois State Senator Michael Frerichs, D-52, who spoke about Champaign’s unity and diversity.

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/06/easier_access_to_campustown_could_result_from_expansion#

Easier access to Campustown could result from expansion
Danny Wicentowski The Daily Illini
Posted: June 27, 2011 - 8:43 PM
Updated: June 30, 2011 - 11:26 AM


The University hosted an informational open house along with the city of Champaign to educate the public about the South Fourth Street Extension Project, which would involve constructing an improved Fourth Street from Windsor Road to St. Mary’s Road.

Sean Widener, engineer for Clark Dietz Inc., said the construction of a new Fourth Street was imperative to the expansion of the University’s Research Park and that the existing Fourth Street is inadequate.“The old Fourth Street is outside the limits of the Research Park itself,” Widener said.
The old Fourth Street currently resides on land belonging to the College of ACES, so using the old street to serve Research Park is not an option, Widener said. Widener said the original plans for the next phase of the development involved an internal network of streets.

Fourth Street’s new position will be pushed farther west — into the development of Research Park — which will save money by allowing a single street to serve more of the Research Park itself. Roland White, city engineer for the city of Champaign, said the construction of a new Fourth Street serves two purposes: the expansion of Research Park and improving traffic.“The primary purpose of the project is to serve the Research Park for economic development purposes,” White said.

White also explained that the improved street would serve to alleviate traffic for those driving into campus. “Let’s say you were … to get onto Windsor Road and access the University during a sporting event or move-in day. There are only a couple ways in on the southwest side (of campus), and we really need another connection, particularly for sporting events,” he said.
“Fourth Street is a nice street through the campus. It goes through Green and Springfield all the way south to the stadium and Assembly Hall. It only makes sense to continue that.” The need for better transportation into campus has been a goal for some time, White said, and the expansion of Research Park serves both the research needs of the University and the city’s economic development goals.

Bruce Walden, director of real estate services for the University, said funding for the project is part of the broader plan to expand and fill Research Park.
Funding for the project came from federal and state capital bill dollars secured by Research Park. The largest share of the money — $6.3 million for construction *— came from the state of Illinois. In total, the project received over $7 million in funding, Walden said.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/film/2011-08-15/champaign-theater-might-become-co-op.html

CHAMPAIGN — Now more than half way through his lease as operator of the Art Theater, Sanford Hess recommends that a community cooperative is formed to take over and operate the independent-movie house.

During his "The State of the Art" presentation on Sunday, Hess said he cannot sustain the status quo. The theater has not made enough money for him to pay himself back the money he loaned the Art Theater Inc. in its initial stages. He took over the theater in January 2010 from operator Greg Boardman.

"I work pretty hard on this and a lot of it's unpaid, with the company not generating enough money to pay me," said Hess, who said he has spent his own cash four times to keep the theater going.

Hess said a private individual could take over the Art and that he would be willing to help that person.

But he said the most likely scenario for sustaining the independent-movie house over the long haul is to have it become a cooperative, one that would be communally owned by its customers.

Champaign-Urbana celebrates gay pride
by GoPride.com News Staff
http://chicago.gopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/21647449


Sun. August 21, 2011 7:17:57 PM
Urbana, IL — The Champaign-Urbana gay pride festival drew hundreds of people Saturday, marking only the second time in the city's history for such an event.

CU Pride Fest for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their friends ran from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Lincoln Square Village in Urbana.
The theme of this year's event was "Pride Makes It Better." As organizers explained, Illinoisans have much to celebrate this year with the passage of the civil unions law, which took effect in June of this year.

"The event was well attended and a great time for families and the entire community," said Jacob Meister, President of The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), a group that was instrumental in lobbying the Illinois General Assembly to pass The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act.

"It's great to see such an active LGBT community in central Illinois," Meister told ChicagoPride.com. "If there is going to be progress in Illinois toward such things as full marriage equality, we need to change the hearts and minds of those in smaller communities. True progress requires that people across the state realize that the LGBTQ community not just an isolated group of people in Chicago."

According to the 2001 census, nearly 350,000 LGBT people live in Illinois, with Champaign among several counties with the highest populations in the state.

The event, held at 88 Broadway and Lincoln Square Village in Urbana, featured more than 55 booths with local artists, vendors and community organizations, including TCRA.

"It was great to see such a diverse crowd. We had hundreds of visitors at The Civil Rights Agenda's booth," said Meister. "What stuck me was the number of clergy, I talked with five of them who were interested in participating TCRA's Faith Project event in Champaign"

Entertainment on the two performance stages included Amasong, Debauche, Desafinado, Dawna Nelson, Raw Art, Vannatica and Zoo Improv.

CU Pride Fest was coordinated by Champaign-Urbana residents in partnership with the Uniting Pride Center of Champaign County, an organization representing the interests of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ) community and its allies in Champaign-Urbana.

Gay pride festivals have become regular events worldwide since 1970, when they were first held in the United States to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising in New York City.

http://www.prospectusnews.com/home/the-history-of-champaign-urbana-1.2552099


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http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-09-02/new-owner-metropolitan-site-wants-hotel-there.html

New owner of Metropolitan site wants hotel there
Fri, 09/02/2011 - 8:00am | Don Dodson

Photo by: John Dixon/The News-Gazette
Hans Grotelueschen, a local financial consultant, peers into the fence surrounding the old Metropolitan Building site at the corner of Main and Neil Streets in Champaign on Thursday. Grotelueschen hopes to build a hotel on the site.


CHAMPAIGN — A Champaign businessman says he hopes to put a hotel on the site of downtown Champaign's Metropolitan Building, destroyed by fire nearly three years ago.

(An Excerpt)

Though no plans have been drawn up, Grotelueschen told The News-Gazette the building would likely be five to 10 stories tall.
"I think it would be a great fit for the downtown environment," he said.
City staff members share that opinion.

Now he's trying to solidify a financial package to enable it to go forward. That involves identifying potential investors and investor groups and contacting traditional financiers. Given the financial climate and the lack of dollars available for development from banks and investors, Grotelueschen said the project "may have to sit for years," but he said he'll do everything he can to push it forward.

That building had to be torn down after suffering damage from the Metropolitan Building fire.Grotelueschen also co-owns the building immediately to the west, at 115 W. Church St., where YG Financial is located.

The vacant properties where the Metropolitan Building and law office once stood cover about 17,000 square feet. The single-story building at 115 W. Church sits on 5,000 square feet. Grotelueschen said the YG Financial structure is "a perfectly good building" that may — or may not — be needed for development of a hotel.

Grotelueschen said a couple other potential investors have been identified at this point "and they are nameless." The Metropolitan Building, which dated from about 1872, was being renovated for condominiums when it was destroyed by fire in November 2008. Jeff Mellander, one of the investors in the Metropolitan Building renovation, said Wednesday that he "couldn't be happier with the transition" of the property to Grotelueschen.

The last hotel to operate downtown was a Howard Johnson's, later known as the State Street Hotel. It was located in the 200 block of North State Street, across from West Side Park. That building is now slated for renovation as a supportive-living facility. Knight, the city's planning director, said the city has several tools that might help the hotel project.


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Havent been checking campus news on daily illini
Guess I shouldve been.

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/08/new_green_building_for_engineers_on_the_way

Kevin Dollear The Daily Illini Contact me
Posted: August 31, 2011 - 11:30 PM
Updated: September 2, 2011 - 4:02 PM

New, green building for engineers on the way
(An excerpt)

Pictured is the architectural rendering of the new ECE building, to be located on Wright Street, south of the Beckman Institute. Featuring solar panels, the goal for the building is to have zero net energy.

The new building, previously planned with the assumed name of John Bardeen Hall but now simply called the ECE building, will be located on Wright Street, southwest of the Beckman Institute. According to the ECE website, it will provide 230,000 square feet of space for teaching and research and will emphasize spaces for student learning.

The College of Engineering recently received $47.5 million for the project in state funds. Combined with $37.5 million already raised from private donors, the college needs $10 million more for the building. Cangellaris said the money will be raised by the department from alumni and industry friends and they may receive federal money because the proposed building is designed to be very environmentally conscious.

Cangellaris said the goal is for the building to have zero net energy.
“Rather than consume energy from the grid, (the building would) be actually able to return some energy back to the grid,” he said.
Cangellaris said the design already allows for solar panels on the roof, but he wants to get space for even more solar cells.

Cangellaris said he hopes groundbreaking starts in November and the building will be open for classes in Fall 2014. Cangellaris said one of the main benefits of the new building will be the open spaces it provides to students, including those in social sciences, fine and applied arts and business.



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Apartment complex to begin construction near ParklandTue, 10/04/2011 - 9:00am | Christine Des Garennes

CHAMPAIGN — Parkland College students looking for a place to live near campus will have a new option available to them next fall.

A 111-unit apartment complex is slated to be built close to the college on land that, for now, is property of the Champaign Park District.

A ground-breaking ceremony will be held Tuesday (Oct. 4) at the site of the future Parkland Point Apartments.

Its slogan: "Where the Cobra Lives."

Living at Parkland Point Apartments "will put students within walking distance of Parkland. And there will be a bus stop right in front for those who don't want to walk in the winter," said developer Creg McDonald, who has owned and managed apartment buildings in the University of Illinois' Campustown. McDonald is owner of the McDonald Group Real Estate Co.

Earlier this year the firm signed a 50-year ground lease with the park district for about 6 acres of land off Bradley Avenue, west of Mattis Avenue, near Country Fair Drive. Including the park district land and adjacent parcels, the project area totals close to 8 acres.

The complex will consist of six buildings, plus a clubhouse with a pool, office and commons area. All 111 apartments will be furnished. There will be a mix of two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom units. Interior features include hardwood floors, leather furniture and security systems, according to McDonald. A pedestrian bridge will be built over the nearby Copper Slough connecting the complex with the park

The project will be built for occupancy in fall 2012.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2011-10-04/apartment-complex-begin-construction-near-parkland.html

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/10/south_quad_landscaping_project_shows_illinois_past#

South Quad landscaping project shows Illinois’ past

Avani Chhaya News Writer
Posted: October 13, 2011 - 11:29 PM
Updated: October 13, 2011 - 11:54 PM



A plan to turn a part of the South Quad into a natural landscape is currently underway. The military axis — or the section of the South Quad that is east of Fourth Street — to the bell tower will potentially be transformed into a natural space by next year.

Aaron Parks, member of the landscape research team and graduate student, said several ecosystems, such as a prairie, savannah, woodland and wetland, may be represented in the area.

“We would really push for one (ecosystem) that represents Illinois natural history,” Parks said.

He said the hope is to show off all four ecosystems in a successive order in the six and a half acre space on the South Quad. The project is raising some concerns of safety, including a concern of crime or accidental fires. Parks said the team is evaluating potential concerns and assessing the benefits of this natural landscape. In December, a meeting will be held where the findings will be presented to the chancellor and a committee of selected staff.

“We’re finding a lot more positives than negatives,” Parks said. “I think people react positively to natural setting.”

Pradeep Khanna, associate chancellor, said the idea for the landscape was included in the 2007 Campus Master Plan. While the chancellor’s office is looking into how the idea can move forward, students are designing the project as part of a class this fall, he said.

Khanna said the natural landscape is “to make the campus more sustainable (and) to make it a living, learning lab” for students to study.

He added that the campus committee, including facilities and services, the fire safety institute and public safety, are responsible for sharing their input about the landscape initiative. Khanna said student representatives are also involved in this effort by being part of a larger committee.

Rachael Wilson, student representative from Red Bison and sophomore in ACES, said she has realized how big of a process this is and how long it takes to get approval. Red Bison is a registered student organization focused on restoration efforts. She said she’s “glad that they’re valuing the students for their input.”

Matt Rundquist, student representative from Students for Environmental Concerns and senior in ACES, said the idea is to enhance native plants on campus with the natural landscape. After the planning is finished and approval is received, the landscape will take several years to be fully furnished with native plants, he said.

For this smaller prairie, the goal is to influence people’s values and to show that restoration is taking place on campus.

“It will bring about appreciation to people’s minds,” Rundquist said. “It’s something in our backyard.”

Wilson said it is easy for students to forget what the original landscape of Illinois was when they are surrounded by academic buildings.

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/10/helping_your_ride_run_smooth#

The Daily IlliniURL: http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/10/helping_your_ride_run_smooth
Current Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:29:45 -0500

Champaign, Urbana to install six new bike repair stations

Chad Garland The Daily Illini
Posted: October 10, 2011 - 11:15 PM
Updated: October 12, 2011 - 10:23 PM

Meco Jones, a Penn Station employee, uses the bike repair station located on Sixth St by Penn Station to pump air into the front tire of his bike on Saturday. There is no charge to use this repair station.

Tires wear out, derailleurs derail and even seats sometimes sink down. Now, bicyclists in Champaign and Urbana can tend to these minor bike maintenance issues while out and about.

Six new bike repair stations are being installed throughout the region, with the first already in use at the Main Street parking garage in downtown Urbana and another recently installed near the Penn Station restaurant in Campustown. Other locations include: the Henry Administration Building parking lot, the Illinois Terminal, 45 E. University Ave. and on Pennsylvania Avenue near The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign’s shop and at the northwest corner of the Hill Street parking garage in downtown Champaign.

These blue steel racks, with an assortment of tools tethered by steel cables, are part of a joint project between the University of Illinois, the cities of Champaign and Urbana and the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, or MTD. Planners involved in the project expect the new fixtures, which may be the first of their kind in Illinois, to encourage bicycle ridership and increase mobility.

Brad Bennett, senior civil engineer for the city of Urbana, said the racks fit with the overall effort to continue making Urbana a bicycle friendly community.

“We’re trying to construct as many bike lanes and off-street bike facilities to facilitate bicyclists,” he said. “This is one component of that effort.”

Cynthia Hoyle, transportation planning consultant for MTD, said the bike repair stations fit into MTD’s role as a “mobility provider” in the community. Hoyle said she saw the bike stations during a planning workshop in Cambridge, Mass. earlier this year. She thought they would be a good addition to the Illinois Terminal, where she said such a station would benefit the many bicyclists who ride MTD buses daily.

Mark Skione,marketing director for Minneapolis-based Dero Bike Rack Company, which makes the bike racks, said they retail for about $1,145 each, plus shipping costs. The four agencies paid under $1,200 for each stand.

Skione said the racks are popular on university campuses, such as the University of Virginia and the University of California at Los Angeles, and had been installed in over 100 cities in the U.S. and on the Dutch railway system. To his knowledge, they were the first such racks Dero had sold for installation in Illinois, he said.

Bennett said he was certain they are the first racks of their kind in central Illinois. Bennett also said that the city of Urbana plans to post signs on Main Street to make bicyclists aware of the repair stations.

The new stands are designed to hold a bike by its seat in an elevated position, while the cyclist works on it with the screwdrivers, assorted wrenches and tire lever attached to the rack by long steel cables. The rack also features a bike pump that works with either Presta- or Schrader-type valves.


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http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/10/smart_meters_to_be_tested_in_downtown_champaign#

http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/10/illinois-geeks-in-line-for-green-building/

HomeGreen BuildingIllinois Geeks In Line For Green Building
by Susan DeFreitas, October 24th, 2011

The University of Illinois has broken ground on its Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s new headquarters building on the university’s Urbana-Champaign campus, which will be aiming for LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

State funds for the building were part of a capital bill signed by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn in 2009 in the amount of $47.5 million, half of the funds necessary to complete the project. Since then, the university has secured $37.5 million in funding from a number of private donors and will contiue to fundraise over the next three years while the building is being constructed.

This ”major addition to the Urbana campus” will comprise 230,000 square feet of instructional, research and office space, with an emphasis on student learning spaces (21 instructional labs will make up 28 percent of the total space). The building will house an undergraduate lounge, a grad student lounge, student organization offices, and 11 teaching assistant meeting rooms and study rooms, as well as twenty research labs for faculty and graduate students supporting seven research groups. The auditorium will have 400 seats, making it one of the largest gathering spots on campus.

The building is projected to be complete in the spring of 2014.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-10-27/machining-firm-take-former-jerrys-iga-space.html

Machining firm to take former Jerry's IGA space

Thu, 10/27/2011 - 12:00pm | Don Dodson

Photo by: Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Steve Hillard, owner of HL Precision Machining, stands in front of the former Jerry's IGA on Wednesday in Champaign. Hillard's company is moving to the building in late December.
CHAMPAIGN — HL Precision Machining plans to move to the former Jerry's IGA building at 2110 Round Barn Road, C, later this year, the company's president said.

Steve Hillard said the company, which employs about 43, hopes to move from its current quarters at 1302 Parkland Court, C, in late December."We're targeting the week between Christmas and New Year's," he said.HL Precision Machining does machining for an array of industries, and Hillard said the move will give HL "the capacity to continue to grow our business."The company occupies about 24,000 square feet in two buildings on Parkland Court, and the former supermarket will provide about 45,000 square feet, Hillard said.

Plus, the three-acre property gives HL room for further expansion if needed."We've been looking for a larger facility for a couple years," he said.Since Hillard acquired the company in June 2006, its workforce has nearly doubled the and it has added capabilities.
"We've been squeezed for space for some time," he said, adding the company expects to gain operational efficiencies from improved work flow.The Jerry's IGA building has been vacant since September 2010, when the supermarket closed. But Hillard said the building "looks and feels like a relatively new facility."

HL plans to build new offices there and have electrical and concrete work done to accommodate its equipment, he said.The company also plans to install a couple overhead doors and create a larger assembly and welding space.The building's exterior will be kept basically the same, except for being painted two tones of gray, he said.Hillard said the Round Barn Road building was the right size for HL. The fact it was air-conditioned was also appealing because the machining company deals with tight tolerances that can be affected by temperature changes.

HL serves clients in several areas, including military aerospace, scientific instruments, consumer packaging and radar communications.In 2010, the company was named the Small Business of the Year by the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce.Hillard said that during the last year, the manufacturing sector has been more resilient than other parts of the economy. The sector recovered in mid-2010 and has been holding its own since then, even as other sectors lagged.U.S. manufacturers have been helped by a weak dollar, making their products more competitive overseas, he said.They also benefited from other manufacturers going out of business during the recession, leaving less manufacturing capacity.

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/11/zorbas_rebuilding_winds_down_8_months_after_fire


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http://www.dailyillini.com/media/00/00/03/24/32439_a1_greenst_2_jrbf.JPG

Downtown apartment project takes next steps
Sun, 11/20/2011 - 11:00am | Don Dodson, staff writer,

Photo by: The News-Gazette
Mitch Hamblet at the site that will become an Eden Supportive Living center in Champaign.

CHAMPAIGN — Developers of a proposed nine-story apartment building for the physically disabled are moving ahead with the project, recently applying to the city of Champaign for a building permit.

Hamblet said he hopes to hear back from the city on the building permit application in the next two or three weeks, so the project can get under way early next year.

Developers plan to use the framing of the five-story Robeson's Inc. building at 222 N. State St., C, as the base for the nine-story structure. When completed and furnished, the entire project is expected to cost "north of $15 million," Hamblet said.

As proposed, the apartment building would have 150 units for people with physical disabilities stemming from multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, stroke, arthritis, seizures and other conditions. It would be licensed for residents 22 to 64 years old.

The apartment building is expected to employ 60 to 65 full-time workers once it opens, Hamblet said. The facility will be staffed days, evenings, nights and weekends.

Eden Supportive Living has similar facilities in Chicago and North Aurora, and it's planning a third facility in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood.

Other major projects have included the new Champaign County YMCA and the FedEx Ground distribution center expansion. Building permits were issued for those, listing costs of $13.15 million and $12.53 million, respectively.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-11-20/downtown-apartment-project-takes-next-steps.html


http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2011/11/12/20111118-151958-pic-117640397.jpg

http://maywoodapts.com/

I didnt know about this complex,
there is alot I dont know about thats for sure, but this place looks alot better than the other complexes that are brand new and advertising on the Daily Illini. Its a bit west of the campus, but still biking or walking distance,
I remember this area being quite industrial, nice to see something new with good/decent design go in there, I will have to drive by it next time Im in town, which will be? Who knows.......


http://maywoodapts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/building.jpg

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/11/developer_planning_5_12story_mixeduse_building_near_krannert

Developer planning 5 1/2-story mixed-use building near Krannert
Posted: November 28, 2011 - 10:59 PM
Updated: December 1, 2011 - 12:06 AM
Andrew Fell The Daily Illini

There are plans to begin construction on a new development across from the Krannert Center as early as May 2013.This architectural mock-up for the Krannert View building shows what the building would look like from a Southern perspective on Oregon Street.A new, 5 1/2-story mixed-use development to be built on Oregon Street across from the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts could begin construction as soon as May 2013 and could be completed by the end of 2014.

The building, called Krannert View, was approved by Urbana City Council as of its regular meeting Monday. Now, it only needs its building permits to be submitted and approved. Robert Myers, Urbana planning manager, said they are likely to be approved because the plans would only require “minor changes” to their current form.

The building would be situated on three lots between the Music Building and the Gamma Phi Beta sorority house to the west and Gregory Place apartments and Sigma Delta Tau sorority house to the east. It would face Oregon Street and would have spaces for commercial, office and residential use, along with lower-level and ground-level parking spaces accessible from the Nevada Street entrance.

Krannert View will have 59 residential units, with 43 of the units being two-bedroom units and the rest split between one-, three- and four-bedroom units. Elevators will make every unit handicap accessible with the exception of three two-story units, which are exempt from the Illinois Accessibility Code, said Fell.

He said Krannert View will adhere to the city-required Illinois Energy Conservation Code and would include a low-intensity green roof, stormwater collection system for irrigation and motion sensors on lights to conserve energy.

The building will feature a “modern” architecture style that was designed to be unique to the surrounding area, although Fell said the brick color would probably be similar to that of University buildings. Myers said the city does not have “provisions that dictate the specific architectural style or design” for buildings in campus commercial districts, other than overall considerations, such as height, distance from property lines and a minimum number of parking spaces.

At the Nov. 7 city council meeting, the three lots that Krannert View would occupy were rezoned as campus commercial districts and were also granted a special use permit to allow for a mixed-use development. Council members passed an amendment to the zoning ordinance Monday that reduces parking requirements for residential units in campus commercial districts, allowing Krannert View to move forward with its planned 71 parking spaces. The amendment reduced the required number of parking spaces per bedroom from 0.75 to 0.5 for multi-family housing in commercial districts on campus.

Diane Marlin, Ward 7, said this reduced number of parking spaces will not be a problem for campus districts because their proximity to the rest of campus allows for alternative transportation options.“Since 2001, the numbers of cars being brought to campus has actually gone down quite substantially,” Myers said. “That’s been documented by the University of Illinois and then also by the number of parking permits that are being issued by the city of Champaign.”

City staff found these ordinances to be in line with Urbana’s master plan that was developed in 2005. The plan allotted the 1000 and 1100 blocks between Oregon and Nevada streets for mixed-use developments. At the Nov. 7 council meeting, Brandon Bowersox, Ward 4, called Krannert View a “smart development” for promoting centrally located local businesses, rather than “trying to sprawl campus out into the neighborhood.” He said he hopes the University follows the project’s lead by growing inward.

Myers said the property owner, Illinois Properties, LCC, might not immediately apply for the permits. Andrew Fell of the contracted firm Andrew Fell Architecture and Design and member of the Urbana plan comission said Illinois Properties is “contemplating trying to get a large commercial tenant” before applying. He said there isn’t a rush to complete the drawings and apply for the permits because the 2012-2013 leasing cycle has already been processed, meaning construction could not begin until May 2013.

Fell said the building’s mechanical and structural drawings have not yet been completed, but he expects his firm to finalize them within the next nine months. He said the designs presented to city staff Nov. 7 should not change very much


http://www.dailyillini.com/media/00/00/03/30/33005_a3_developmentf.jpg

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-12-18/six-story-development-downtown-urbana.html

URBANA — A Champaign architect and developer has proposed construction of a multimillion-dollar mixed-use project across Vine Street from the federal courthouse and the Lincoln Square Village in downtown Urbana.Architect Gary Olsen's Metro Centre proposal will get its first review by the Urbana City Council on Monday night. The council will meet at 7 p.m. at the Urbana City Building, 400 S. Vine St., one block south of the proposed development.

No council action is expected Monday regarding the project, Urbana Community Development Director Libby Tyler said.
"But I think what (Olsen) would like to hear is that he can represent an interest in the proposal," Tyler said.Olsen was unavailable for comment Friday, and Tyler said he was revising and updating details of the project, including its price and the amount of parking to be included.

The development would include underground parking, she said.
Early estimates pegged construction costs at between $14 million and $16 million.If the project is undertaken in the next few years, it would serve as a unique half-century bookend with the Lincoln Square development on the west side of Vine Street. Construction of Lincoln Square, once a thriving shopping mall, began nearly 50 years ago — in June 1963 — and the mall opened in September 1964.

"This would be a very significant project," Tyler said. "It's a beautiful design and we're quite excited about it." Urbana officials have hoped for years to redevelop the property, now occupied by a Goodyear shop and parking lots. Earlier this year, the city council completed the purchase of the last available property on the square block, bringing the city's land acquisition costs to $950,000 since 2008.After sending out requests for proposals earlier this year, Urbana received only one in return: Olsen's.

"It's exactly what we were looking for in the property," she said.Metro Centre would include a total of 241,083 square feet in two separate buildings, Tyler said. The building facing Vine Street would be six stories tall and would include a first floor of commercial space, three floors of office space and the top two floors of residences. A second, smaller building on the east side, facing Urbana Avenue, would consist of eight two-story "Chicago-style" townhouses with walled-in courtyards.

Former Borders to be first downstate site of Binny's Beverage Depot

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-12-29/former-borders-be-first-downstate-site-binnys-beverage-depot.html

CHAMPAIGN — Binny's Beverage Depot plans to open in mid-February in the former Borders bookstore at Town Center Boulevard and Prospect Avenue in Champaign.

The Skokie-based beer, wine and spirits retailer has 27 stores in the Chicagoland area, and the Champaign store will be its first downstate, owner Michael Binstein said.

CHAMPAIGN — Demolition has finally begun on the College Corner Mall building on the southwest corner of Fourth and Green streets in Champaign.
The building is being torn down to make way for an eight-story apartment building that will stand just east of the 24-story apartment building at 309 E. Green St. The two buildings will be connected by a bridge.

The new building, being developed by Campus Acquisitions LLC, is called 311 Green and is expected to have 70 units, with a total 154 bedrooms.As planned, the first floor will have 6,400 square feet of retail space, with apartments on the second through eighth floors. Plans call for 28 two-bed apartments, 21 one-bed apartments, seven three-bed apartments and 14 four-bed apartments.

Initially, developers wanted to build a 20-story tower on the site. But in 2009, they scaled back plans to an eight-story building. At that time, the company expected to begin construction in spring 2010, with completion slated for August 2011.But the time table fell back, partly because a tenant of the College Corner Mall had a lease that didn't expire until this year.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/miscellaneous/2011-12-23/demolition-under-way-college-corner-mall-building.html

http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2011/12/22/20111222-232303-pic-745948883.jpg

Since there is no discussion here I will make one up with comments from the news gazette for the article above.

"Excellent. Champaign needs another out-of-scale, architectural eyesore lining the historic Green St."

"Many memories in that building - the original (and perhaps best) version of Cafe Luna, O'Malley's (different sort of legend), Seoul Carry-Out, The crepe place (the first one) whose name I can't remember. Onward to bland apartment towers!"

I agree with these two sentiments, the building they are knocking down was a very interesting building. If anything they should have knocked down the minimart across the street to put something up. Very bland suburban type downtown in the making for Campustown. Its becoming a bit vanilla. The Coed is gone long ago, I miss it. Atleast Zorbas was rebuilt after the fire.
Geez I wouldve kept Omalleys building

http://www.halfwayinteresting.com/Pages/CityofChampaign/tabid/90/entryid/544/Midtown-Champaign-Urban-Gentrification-or-a-Lost-Cause.aspx

Interesting viewpoint from local blog about Midtown
the area of Champaign inbetween downtown and campustown.

Midtown Champaign: Urban Gentrification or a Lost Cause?
Posted @ 5/12/2011 4:00 AM By Matt Wavering
Posted in [Economic Development], [Food & Restaurant], [Policy], [Real Estate] | 1 Comments
Where is Midtown? The Midtown District is the tag placed on the commercial corridors of First Street between Springfield Avenue and Washington Street, and University Avenue between the viaduct and Third Street. As there are no precisely defined borders, the district encompasses the surrounding blocks including the Boneyard Second Street Basin, the Boneyard Greenway, and the Burnham District (Third & Springfield). (Map) The reason this area is important is its strategic location between Downtown Champaign and Campustown. The City of Champaign and the new Champaign Center Partnership have identified the Midtown District as a critical area to unify the urban core of Champaign.

The district has seen better days, but is currently emerging as a new target area for redevelopment and gentrification. Previously considered to be too far from campus to attract students and university oriented retailers, the gradual revitalization of Downtown has now made Midtown attractive to older students, young professionals, unique restaurants, and local retailers. The inventory of commercial buildings in the district and the recent beautification of the Boneyard Creek combine to make the area prime for investment and redevelopment.

My take on the district is that it could go one of two ways. One, the City could offer financial incentives tied to development standards and requirements that force property owners and businesses to take the district in a direction dictated by planning staff. The result would be a few overbuilt developments surrounded by blighted property, high rents dictated by construction costs not by demand, and unsustainable vacancy rates…not a pretty picture. Two, the City could help direct redevelopment rather than dictating it, and let market forces, businesses, and property owners shape the future of the district. This takes more time but is much more effective and sustainable long term.

My feedback to planning staff will be to provide some direction in terms of land use patterns and zoning, and let demand for retail and rental housing dictate the speed and quality of the redevelopments. I envision an increased density of retail, office, and restaurant space along First Street, University Avenue, and Chester Street with remodeled apartments on the upper floors those buildings. I also think that the new basin is attractive enough to increase the demand for traditional apartments along Second and Third Streets, between Springfield and University Avenues. Increased demand will spur more redevelopment and renovations for those buildings, increasing rental rates and thus property values. By far the toughest part of the district to redevelop will be the area west of First Street and east of the railroad tracks. Currently, those blocks are dominated by service-related and industrial business, including contractors and automotive shops. Again, some simple re-zoning that would allow those businesses to continue operating while providing future alternative land uses is the best plan of action.

So my fellow residents, what would you like to see in Midtown? How should the City work with property owners and encourage investment/redevelopment? The City is taking a proactive approach by holding an open house at Second & Springfield on Tuesday May 24th from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. In the event of severe weather, the open house will be moved to Minneci’s (First & Springfield). The City of Champaign’s planning staff will be on hand to gather input from residents and to share their vision. I plan on attending the meeting and will share ideas from Halfway Interesting readers if you feel inclined to post your thoughts and comments.

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2012/01/ninth_graders_help_reopen_champaign_county_historical_museum

Ninth graders help reopen Champaign County Historical Museum
Hannah Meisel The Daily Illini
Posted: January 22, 2012 - 11:14 PM
Updated: January 23, 2012 - 10:08 PM

Michael Bojda The Daily Illini
Sally Pennachi, freshman at Uni High, talks about a top hat and other artifacts in the ballroom room at the Champaign County Historical Museum on Saturday. Pennachi is one of Adele Suslick’s English students who helped to restore the museum.

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But at the grand reopening of the Champaign County Historical Museum last week, the 14- and 15-year-old guides opened the museum’s doors for the first time in nearly a year and a half. In the time the museum was closed due to short funds and disrepair issues, University High School students created two entirely new exhibits, organized existing exhibits and preserved valuable museum artifacts, all without academic incentive.

The project is the brainchild of Adele Suslick, University Laboratory High School English teacher. Suslick, who has served on the museum’s board of directors for 10 years, said the museum had been declining in patronage and funding since the organization’s full-time director Paul Idleman died unexpectedly of throat cancer in Dec. 2006.The museum began to fall into disarray with only volunteers to aid in upkeep. Additionally, the building began needing extensive repairs and suffered multiple break-ins, so in mid-2010, the board decided to close the museum indefinitely.

But Suslick said she saw an opportunity for learning in the museum’s closing.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t (restoring the museum) be a neat class project?’” she said. “In the process, (the students) would learn a lot about local history, maintaining artifacts and displaying them.”Beginning in Dec. 2010, members of Suslick’s freshman English class began volunteering hours of their weekends at the 1857 Cattle Bank building at 102 E. University Avenue in Champaign.

The students began by organizing and preserving artifacts, but when they became infatuated with certain items and the history behind them, it became clear to Suslick the students should have more responsibility. So, the students conceptualized two new exhibits: the Toy Room and the Ballroom.Both exhibits aim to focus on life in Champaign County behind closed doors, displaying everyday toys and school supplies and apparel throughout the years.

Alice Hu, freshman, volunteers in the Toy Room and is interested in researching the history behind those artifacts.“I like how the Toy Room zones in on the most intimate parts of life,” Hu said. “The military room, for example, focuses on huge, large-scale things but … toys are everyday objects, and by examining them, you learn a lot about life in general back then.”

The museum also has a collection of medical equipment in storage; students will be deciding how to display it in the coming months. The outdated medical technology has inspired a lot of conversation amongst the students.Freshman Sally Pennacchi is interested in attending medical school and is looking forward to researching the history of the intact doctor bag and other medical instruments.

Pennacchi became so interested in the museum and its history, her triplet brother George also began volunteering at the museum, though he attends St. Thomas More High School in Champaign.When Suslick’s students became deeply involved in the project, she wanted to make sure the team was doing everything they could to preserve the artifacts in a correct manner.

Suslick attended a conference at the Smithsonian Museum and invited a local expert to give the students a crash course on museum curating.Pat Miller, executive director of the Illinois Heritage Association, spoke with students about proper handling of artifacts and will continue to work with the students in the areas of judging the significance of a historical item and developing underlying themes of exhibits.

Researching artifacts will be the next goal for the project, and Suslick admits it’s an ambitious one.Students will learn how to research primary sources and will begin labeling artifacts with a two-fold story: one of the item and one of the person who owned it.The students are considered volunteers just like the rest of the staff of the non-profit museum. Hal Balbach, co-president of the museum, said they are a valuable resource for the museum, especially in difficult financial times.

Though some members had pledged constant support even through the museum’s closing, Balbach said membership to the museum is key in sustaining the building and its operations.“We’re hurting for support,” he said. “As it stands now, we probably have less than a year’s expenses available.”Balbach said his financial goal is to have one percent of Champaign County residents become members of the museum.

The museum’s new online presence aims to do just that. Sophomores Nathan Beauchamp, Shawn Lu, Kedar Vaidya and Max Li have worked on the website, making it accessible and up-to-date. They hope that the new website will attract more visitors and memberships.University Laboratory High School principal Jeff Walkington said the project falls exactly in line with the school’s mission of applicable learning.“We like to encourage students to do serious research, but then, do creative things with that research,” he said. “When they’re there at the museum, you see a lot of excitement, a lot of curiosity and a lot of energy.”

http://www.champaignmuseum.org/

We are pleased to be able to announce that the Museum had a special re-opening on January 15th and 16th, and is now open again to the public on Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5.Welcome to the Champaign County Historical Museum located in the 1857 Cattle Bank building at First and University in Champaign, Illinois. We are a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and display artifacts associated with persons and events in Champaign County. If you want contact us, please write or call and leave a message, and we will reply. You may explore our website, where we are adding things every day, by selecting the different tabs above.


(I have always liked this building, I really hope that the museum suceeds, maybe they should also put on a show about Lincoln and his history of travelling to all the small towns in Illinois before he was president, I know there is a house in urbana NOT in its original location, but Lincoln did spend the night there)

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2012-01-01/craftsmen-taking-pains-restore-uis-lincoln-hall-add-modern-amenities.html


Craftsmen taking pains to restore UI's Lincoln Hall, add modern amenities



Sun, 01/01/2012 - 7:00am | Julie Wurth, staff writer,



Photo by: Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette

Workers continue construction on the future coffee shop and walkway at Lincoln Hall.


URBANA — Architects reviewing blueprints of historic Lincoln Hall made a surprising discovery as they prepared for its current top-to-bottom renovation.

Inside the venerated theater, the drawings showed a sketch of a large plaster medallion, depicting four women, on the wall just to the left of the stage. It was nearly identical to others ringing the theater, but in real life it was nowhere to be found. That space on the wall held nothing more than a vent.

No one knows what happened to the medallion, but craftsmen are now recreating that design as part of the theater restoration. It's an example of the painstaking care used to bring Lincoln Hall back to its original glory — with modern amenities like a coffee shop, elevators, sprinklers and "smart" energy technology.

The grand reopening is still months away, but with the project 85 percent complete, the results are already evident. Artisans are almost finished restoring the elaborate scrollwork and other embellishments in the theater and the marble entryway known as Memorial Hall. The background is painted with historically accurate colors — fairly subdued beiges, greens and grays — that were found under layers of paint. But the restored detail work now "leaps out," said Associated Dean Matthew Tomaszewski, who is overseeing the project for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Gold and silver leaf once again highlights the ornate designs. In Memorial Hall, workers have restored a stunning gold Greek key pattern along the top of the wall, which was discovered as paint was stripped away. Above, several large medallions on each side of the hall, flanked by owls, are clad in gleaming gold leaf, as are the rosettes in the coffered ceiling.

"None of the gold leaf was visible anymore," Tomaszewski said on a recent walk-through. "It's just a huge change."An arched stained-glass window over the building's main entryway was repaired and cleaned. The door frame is being painted with a finish to resemble bronze, and a similar technique was used to make the metal railings along the balcony look like aged copper.

"It's gorgeous," said Dennis Stang of Prime Scaffold of Chicago, part of the crew taking down the scaffolding in the theater on Dec. 20. "It's really going to be nice." Plasterer Bob Johnson of Koch Brothers worked on the Lincoln Hall ceiling over the summer and returned this fall to help restore the medallions that were damaged by water and years of dust. He created a clay model of the missing medallion from the sketch, then took a rubber mold that will eventually be used to cast a plaster version for the wall.

Inside the theater, the ceiling fixtures needed updated electrical components, and sprinklers and recessed lights were also added.The building, where virtually every UI student has attended a class, is scheduled to reopen in fall 2012 after a 2 1/2-year, $58 million renovation. Lincoln Hall opened its doors in 1911 and underwent its last major renovation in 1928, when an addition that included the theater was built.

The current project also includes two small additions, three-story glass towers on either side of the theater entrance that overlook an interior courtyard. Their function is twofold: to create more gathering space for students and make them feel more connected to the green space outside, Tomaszewski said.On the first floor, the addition creates a space for students entering or leaving the 600-seat theater, eliminating congestion from hundreds of students changing classes at once. On the second floor, it will create a comfortable waiting area for students in the college advising office.

Off the courtyard will be a new cafe in what once was, college historians think, a smoking room for theater patrons. Stairs lead down to the arched chamber underneath the theater, which was most recently used for graduate student offices.The cafe is still a rough plan at this point. In fact, the first and second floors are still a beehive of activity, with plasterers sanding walls, welders sending sparks flying down stairways and the smell of paint everywhere. The lower floors are still mostly plywood, and sacks of patching compound, pallets of drywall and tangles of wires keep visitors on their toes.

Tomaszewski said planners balanced preservation and restoration with renovation. They tried to restore as much as possible on the first floor and in the theater — the most public areas — reusing the wood doors, chair rails, terrazzo floors and the original rails and banisters. But classrooms were reconfigured and brought up to modern standards. The second and third floors, which will now hold college and departmental offices, have larger offices, carpeted floors and enclosed stairwells for fire safety.

On the fourth floor — where the World Heritage Museum was once based before becoming the freestanding Spurlock Museum of World Cultures — a dark storage space has been transformed into a bright, open area for graduate student offices. The vaulted ceilings and skylights that run the length of the room flood it with light. ("Smart" technology, a key feature of energy-efficiency improvements, turns lights on when someone enters a room, and dims or brightens them as needed.)

The small rectangular windows on the fourth floor, set into niches resembling a museum display, are actually original, cut into the building's facade just under the restored copper cornice. Outside, all of the building's windows have been replaced, but "they look like they were there all along," Tomaszewski said.

Tuckpointing crews went through special training to learn how to apply the specially mixed mortar in the 100-year-old style originally used. The new slate tiles on the roof were cut in a way to make them look historical. Some of the most impressive work won't be seen by the public, in the basement, formerly a maze of graduate student offices pidgeoned among pipes and mechanical systems. Crews excavated the entire basement so that most of the mechanical systems could be put there, making it 3 to 5 feet deeper. They used "micropiles," brackets driven 30 to 50 feet into the ground, to support the building's structure. They remained in place after the new foundation was poured.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2011-12-01/ui-trustees-consider-renovation-natural-history-building.html

UI trustees to consider renovation to Natural History Building

URBANA — A University of Illinois building partially shuttered for a year and a half because of structural problems is next in line for a major facelift.

Campus officials have proposed a $70 million renovation of the Natural History Building, 1301 W. Green St., home to the School of Earth, Society and Environment, and the School of Integrative Biology, both in the UI's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Much of the building was closed in the summer of 2010 after engineers determined some of the floors were structurally insufficient. Since then the university and Champaign firm BLDD Architects have come up with conceptual plans for a renovation of the building's classrooms, laboratories and offices as well as an update of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.

The UI Board of Trustees will meet Friday in Springfield to consider a number of action items, including the proposed renovation of the building.For several years the university requested money for the Natural History Building from the state, but now officials propose to pay for it with a combination of student fees, university institutional funds and donations."This building was in such as state of disrepair, it's almost unusable," campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler said. University officials still hope the state will be able to contribute some money for the project, but "we simply can't wait any longer," she said.

After 40 percent of the building closed in 2010, many offices were combined and some moved to other places on campus, said geology Professor Steven Marshak, director of the School of Earth, Society and Environment. Some labs were relocated to other buildings or other portions of the Natural History Building. Staff, for example, moved the mass spectrometry lab to another portion of the building. Doing so was no small feat. The move required bringing in a specialist from Scotland, moving and calibrating the spectrometer and updating the room's electrical and ventilation systems.

"The problem with this building is it's a hodgepodge of components pieced together at different times: (in) 1892, 1908 and 1924," Marshak said. All those portions were built before modern laboratory science had been established, he said, and as a result the building does not have features, such as constant air control, needed for modern laboratories. In recent months administrators drafted a funding plan for the $70 million renovation project: $18 million is expected to be raised from the deferred maintenance fee that students pay; $20 million from funds set aside from the Stewarding Excellence and other ongoing cost-savings programs on campus; $10 million from facility reserves; $4 million in energy conservation reserves; and $7 million in donor funds.

"We're still working on securing the additional $11 million," Kaler said. The building, just east of the Illini Union, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building's floor space totals about 148,000 square feet and the building's footprint won't change with the renovation, Kaler said."It's a really major renovation. We're looking forward to the change," Marshak said. Faculty, students and staff will face some challenges in the coming years as they will have to move temporarily to other buildings, "but when we return (to the renovated building), it will all seem worth it. It will help with our ability to recruit students and faculty," Marshak said.

In addition to approving the project's budget, the board on Friday will be asked to continue to employ BLDD Architects of Champaign to manage the construction documents, bidding process, construction administration and post construction management. In return the firm will receive a fee of $2.8 million, for a total of approximately $3.2 million including previous work done on the project.

The building project's design is anticipated to be complete by January 2013 and the project itself is expected to be finished by fall 2015. Also at the Friday board meeting, members will likely approve the appointment of Susan Kies to the post of board secretary, replacing Michele Thompson who is retiring. Trustees also are set to approve the appointment of Robert Easter as interim vice chancellor for research, replacing Ravi Iyer, who is returning to faculty. Easter was most recently the interim chancellor.

The board's meeting will be webcast online at http://www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html. It is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.

Historic Art Theater in downtown Champaign has turned into co-op

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2012/02/historic_art_theater_in_downtown_champaign_has_turned_into_coop#

Zach Bass The Daily Illini

Posted: February 9, 2012 - 10:50 PM

Updated: February 12, 2012 - 10:21 PM

It’s 7 p.m. and suddenly the once-short line stretches out the door and around the corner of the building. Above the crowd is a lit marquee listing the productions they are about to see and along both sides of the entrance movie posters hang. The throng of people push past the popcorn counter into the mouth of the double doors until the almost 400-seat complex is filled. The lights dim until the seated viewers are virtually gone with the dark, and with the light of the screen, the murmur of the crowd goes silent. It’s a night not unlike any other at The Art Theater in downtown Champaign, but after nearly 100 years of existence, it is now running the risk of extinction.

The theater has outlived six wars, 17 presidents and a range of technological advances within the very industry it occupies. Films were characterized by black and white, silence and small screens that have now been replaced by explosive surround sound, 3D screens and color. But there is an advancement that now has the theater in trouble: digital filmmaking.

With theaters now being left with no choice but to use digital equipment, the Art Theater will need to purchase $80,000 worth of equipment. These expenses, however, are not within the theater’s financial reach due to a lower revenue source as a single-screen theater specializing in art films.

“It’s kind of scary to me that it’s in danger… the Art is really the only theater to get those kind of films,” said Perry Morris, local historian. “The theater has had trouble in the past, but it seems like they’ve tested time … But if they do go down, I don’t know if any of the multiplexes or other venues would pick (the art films) up.”

In an attempt to save the theater and buy the necessary equipment, the theater has decided that for the first time in its history, they will no longer be a private business but will instead form a co-op. The co-op would enable anyone with a $65 payment to own a share of the theater and have a voice in its direction. The goal of the theater is to raise $100,000 by October, and if they don’t, then the Art Theater will shut down.

“The greatest accomplishment this theater has ever achieved is existing,” said Sanford Hess, head of operations. “Pretty much all of the theaters surrounding us are gone now. People have a bond to it … and that’s why it’s stayed alive so long.”

The theater has been unique in its film selections compared to others within the area. Unlike most theaters, which consistently show the blockbusters of Hollywood, the Art Theater has specialized and made a tradition of showing more from the independent circuit, including submitted works during their annual film festival. So far, the co-op has garnered a loyal following of supporters. Since the first day it began accepting money, Dec. 16, the theater has managed to raise $40,000, almost half of their goal. But the theater will need to do even more in order to remove its now obsolete equipment.

“I think that it’s a sign of the times in that art theaters are becoming diamonds in the rough for the better or the worst,” said Andrew Harvell, shift manager at a Texas theater and freshman in Business. “I could tell the theater and all of the employees seem passionate about their work and the hope of it staying. But I don’t think enough people know about it.”

With its future depending on the co-op’s success, the theater will be approaching its 100th birthday in 2013.


http://www.uni.illinois.edu/og/media/photos/d/59839-1/theater+main.jpg

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/health/fitness/2012-02-11/mckinley-y-building-owner-plans-fitness-center-there.html


McKinley Y building owner plans fitness center there

Sat, 02/11/2012 - 8:00am | Don Dodson, staff writer,

Photo by: John Dixon/The News-Gazette

Leon Jeske, center foreground, owner of the McKinley YMCA property and his advisers Donna Wright and Dan McCulley stand at the facility in Champaign on Friday.

CHAMPAIGN — The owner of the McKinley Family YMCA building on Church Street says he plans to open a fitness center there once the Champaign County YMCA moves out. The new McKinley Fitness Center would offer its members use of two swimming pools and a gymnasium and — at some point — fitness facilities, said Leon Jeske, who bought the building from the YMCA last year.

The Champaign County YMCA will vacate the building at 500 W. Church St., C, at the end of the month, relocating to its newly built facility on Fields South Drive in southwest Champaign. Jeske said he doesn't want to take members away from the Champaign County YMCA. But he wants to offer use of the centrally located swimming pools and gym to people who want recreational facilities close to the heart of the city. Working with him in an advisory capacity to bring the fitness center about are Dan McCulley, who for two decades operated The Body Firm and Gold's Gym fitness centers in Champaign and Urbana, and Donna Wright, former membership director for the Champaign County YMCA.

The McKinley Fitness Center plans to offer swimming, basketball, aerobics, water aerobics and yoga, among other things.Jeske is encouraging community residents to contact the McKinley Fitness Center about what they would like to see offered there — and to sign up for memberships if they're interested in using the facility. The center's new phone number is 766-5833.Monthly fees will be $40 for one adult, $60 for two adults and $20 for youth. Families will pay monthly fees of $60 for two adults, plus $5 for each child.There will also be a one-time joining fee of $50, but during an introductory period, that will be waived for people who are already gym members, Wright said.

Hours are expected to be 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Jeske said the center is expected to open about a week after the YMCA moves out. The center is in the process of hiring lifeguards, water aerobics instructors, fitness instructors and yoga instructors, as well as desk personnel and custodial staff.Jeske said he would like to work with the Champaign Park District and Central High School, in case those organizations want to use the indoor pools and gym.Central High School Athletic Director John Woods said Central has used the Y's gym as a facility for wrestling in the winter. "We would absolutely be interested in continuing that relationship with him (Jeske)" until a replacement for Central is built, Woods said Friday. "I'm glad to see that facility up and running," he added. "It's obviously a historical building at this point, and we're blessed to have that option for gym space."

Jeske, McCulley and Wright say they figure they'll need to attract 500 or so members in order to make the McKinley Fitness Center pay for itself. Wright said the YMCA had about 3,100 members, including children. McCulley said the McKinley building has been a big part of his life."Without all the programs, and especially the gymnastics program, I would not have been a pole vaulter," McCulley said. "I am very nostalgic about the times I have spent here."He called himself a "cheerleader" of Jeske's efforts "to keep this type of facility in the center of Champaign."Wright said an adult basketball league is expected to continue playing at the gym from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.The fitness center would also consider renting out its facilities for birthday parties and other special events, Jeske said.

Jeske, who bought the property for $450,000 last year, has been making energy-saving improvements to the building over the past year in hopes of cutting fuel bills. The work included replacing windows, insulating steam pipes, replacing some sections of roof, tuck-pointing bricks and repairing the brick wall that outlines the property.

The original building, constructed about 1910, initially served as a private residence. A citizens' group bought the home in 1938 for use as a YMCA, using a bequest from the late Sen. William B. McKinley. For many years, the facility was known as the McKinley Memorial YMCA.Several additions have been made to the original house, including the gymnasium and the men's fitness area.

Jeske is also remodeling the adjacent carriage house for use as apartments. The ground-floor apartment will have three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths, while the upstairs apartment has two bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths. The upstairs unit is being offered for $1,200 a month, and Jeske said he will likely ask $1,300 to $1,400 a month for the downstairs unit. Both have several amenities, including heated ceramic-tile bathroom floors. Jeske said he has done $150,000 to $200,000 of work to the main building and carriage house in the past year.



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Ebert pleads with alumni to help keep cash-strapped Daily Illini afloat

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120216/NEWS06/120219831/ebert-pleads-with-alumni-to-help-keep-cash-strapped-daily-illini

By Lynne MarekFebruary 16, 2012

(Crain's) — The Daily Illini, the 141-year-old student newspaper of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has enlisted former Editor-in-Chief and award-winning Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert to help raise funds in a fight for the paper's survival.The newspaper's nonprofit umbrella organization, Illini Media Co., is delinquent on its mortgage payments and owes $250,000 in back payments to its printer. Given its financial independence from the university and its inability to get a loan, the paper — a daily broadsheet with 12 pages — is facing a cash crunch.

“It is possible the Daily Illini could cease publication,” Mr. Ebert said in a letter circulated on Facebook to alumni of the paper. His Jan. 19 letter is part of a fundraising campaign designed to help the paper survive the immediate crisis and establish a new, more financially stable plan, said Lil Levant, who was hired as the publisher of the paper last year. Like other newspapers, the Daily Illini largely has been dependent on advertising for revenue, but now it's turning to fundraising and alternative sources, she said.

Illini Media Co.'s annual budget is roughly $2 million. “What we're experiencing is the same as every other media company in the U.S., except that we have the advantage of being a non-profit,” she said in an interview. College papers across the country have seen a significant drop in advertising revenue, which once provided the lion's share of income, as more readers turn to online alternatives. School papers also lack subscription income because most are free.

College newspaper organizations have varying business models, with most receiving some funding from their universities, typically through student activity fees. Only about 5 percent of the country's approximately 1,900 college papers, such as the Daily Illini and Northwestern University's Daily Northwestern, are financially independent from their schools, estimated Chris Carroll, who is director of student media at Vanderbilt University and interim executive director for the College Media Association at Vanderbilt, in Nashville. Those papers have been harder hit financially in addition to carrying higher overhead costs, he said.

That was certainly the case for Illini Media. Just as the industry's advertising downturn began to accelerate, the nonprofit depleted its financial reserves in 2006 with the construction of a new four-story building in Campustown to house all of its units, including the school's yearbook operation, WPGU radio station and weekly Buzz magazine. "As a newspaper, it is a success. It will survive," Mr. Ebert said in an email interview. "As a property owner ... well, there's the challenge."

Part of the plan for drumming up revenue is to lease two floors of the building to tenants whose rent would ultimately cover the mortgage, Ms. Levant said. Illini Media has a tenant for the fourth floor and is talking with another for the first floor, she said. The Daily Illini also is asking online readers who have more than eight page views a month at the paper's website to consider a donation, Ms. Levant said. She also has students working on a new iPad application, she said.

Other schools also are trying to tap new income streams, by selling special editions, staging events or providing services, such as photo shoots. Most don't have the option, like the Daily Illini, of turning to such a famous group of alumni for donations, so that hasn't been a common approach, said Logan Aimone, executive director of the National Scholastic Press Association. The Daily Northwestern, which is also losing money, is talking with the university about possibly receiving funds from a new student activity fee, said Charles Whitaker, a journalism professor at Northwestern University's Medill School, who also is chairman of the board for the nonprofit Students Publishing Co., which puts out the newspaper.

Vanderbilt Student Communications Inc., which publishes the Vanderbilt Hustler, last year sold its terrestrial license for its radio station — WRVU — for about $3.4 million to set up an endowment for the umbrella organization. It was a contentious issue, but the organization's board, including a majority of students, voted for the sale, Mr. Carroll said. “We are very advertising dependent right now, and we didn't want to be naive and think that will last forever,” he said.

Papers also are reducing costs by cutting employees, pay and circulation. For instance, the Minnesota Daily, the school-subsidized University of Minnesota newspaper in the Twin Cities, chopped circulation to four days a week from five, Mr. Aimone said.The cost-cutting and new revenue ideas have stabilized the financial picture for many papers, he said.“What I'm not hearing anymore is the 'sky is falling' language,” Mr. Aimone said. “Advertising revenues have started to pick up a little bit, and additionally newspapers have made the cuts to survive.”

The Daily Illini also has reduced costs, chopping the size of its paid staff through attrition, Ms. Levant said. She is one of the organization's 12 paid nonstudent full- and part-time employees. While some of the 200 to 300 students who work for the media units receive limited pay, most do not, she said. Paying the printer is the Daily Illini's most pressing demand, but paper also is “desperately” in need of funds for updating its technology resources, Mr. Ebert said in his letter. “Many, including myself, would say that they owe their careers at least in part to their experience at Illini Media,” Mr. Ebert said in the letter. “It's now time to give back.” When asked about the response the publication has received since posting the letter, Mr. Ebert said via email: "I haven't seen the figures to the DI letter, but there seems to be an encouraging response."


Read more: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120216/NEWS06/120219831/ebert-pleads-with-alumni-to-help-keep-cash-strapped-daily-illini-afloat#ixzz1mfH0KsrJ
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http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/retail/2012-02-17/champaign-considering-tax-rebate-downtown-hotel.html

Champaign considering tax rebate for downtown hotel

Fri, 02/17/2012 - 10:42am | Don Dodson, staff writer,

CHAMPAIGN — The Champaign City Council will consider providing up to $3 million in tax reimbursements to help jump-start development of a hotel in downtown Champaign.Hans Grotelueschen of YG Financial Group has proposed developing a nine-story 150-room hotel at the southwest corner of Church and Neil streets — the site of the Metropolitan Building that was destroyed by fire in 2008.

Grotelueschen plans to tear down the YG Financial Group building to the west of that site, in order to make way for the hotel. If project financing is successful, Grotelueschen "anticipates beginning construction in June of 2012 and completing the structure in July of 2013," a staff memo to the council says.

"The developer is still discussing the brand name for the hotel and details about design and construction," the memo states.Council members are scheduled to discuss the project at a study session following the regular council meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the City Building, 102 N. Neil St., C. Specifically, Grotelueschen and his investors are asking the city to rebate seven years of taxes generated by the hotel project. City staff has recommended the tax reimbursement be capped at $3 million. Grotelueschen, who has already moved some of YG Financial Group's offices to the recently renovated Blue Line Station building on North Neil Street, plans to relocate the rest of the business there eventually, according to the memo.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=485l5172l0l5469l28l25l0l0l0l0l985l6049l0.14.6.1.1.0.2l24l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=573&wrapid=tlif132952230157810&q=church+and+neil+champaign+il&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x880cd74c58d6a9a9:0xb318b1d31233d49e,Church+and+Neil&gl=us&ei=fOY-T7mPBeSs0AGhntHrBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ8gEwAA


Champaign Urbana finally on google maps!!!!
Its about time!!!!

:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

Dont remember what the building that used to be there looks like
but a nice tall hotel would look great there at that intersection.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2012-03-07/third-phase-uis-ikenberry-commons-redevelopment-begin-soon.html

Third phase of UI's Ikenberry Commons redevelopment to begin soon Wed, 03/07/2012 - 1:00pm | Julie Wurth, staff writer,

Photo by: Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Construction continues Tuesday on a building that is part of the new Ikenberry Commons residence-hall complex at the corner of South First Street and East Peabody Drive in Champaign.

CHAMPAIGN — Planning for the third phase of the massive Ikenberry Commons redevelopment on the site of the old "Six Pack" residence halls could get under way soon.

University of Illinois trustees will be asked to approve a new $80 million residence hall project on the north side of the Ikenberry Commons site at their March 15 meeting in Urbana. The next step would be selection of an architectural/engineering firm to design the building, said Michael Bass, senior associate vice president and deputy comptroller.

Ikenberry Commons, which will eventually replace all Champaign residence halls, is bordered by East Gregory Drive on the north, East Peabody Drive on the south, South Fourth Street on the east and South First Street on the west in Champaign. Two new halls and a dining facility are already up or under way.

The latest phase will be a 155,000-square-foot building with 480 to 490 beds, to be built near the corner of South First and East Gregory, officials said Monday. Construction would tentatively start in spring 2014, and the target completion date is August 2016.

Bass said the UI will use institutional funds — money held in reserve from overhead on government grants and other sources — to fund initial work, but the project will eventually be funded with revenue bonds repaid by student housing fees.

The new building is consistent with the master plan laid out when the 14-year, multimillion-dollar Ikenberry Commons project was approved, Bass said at a meeting of the board of trustees' audit, budget, finance and facilities committee Monday.

Eventually, the commons will include eight new residence halls to replace the Six Pack (Forbes, Garner, Hopkins, Scott, Snyder and Weston halls) and the Taft-Van Doren halls at Peabody and Fourth. Overall capacity will remain about the same, approximately 3,500 students.

The initial phase, completed in 2010, included a Student Dining and Residential Programs Building and the first section of Nugent Hall, which has state-of-the-art accessibility features. The final two wings at Nugent Hall are scheduled to open next fall.

Construction also began earlier this year on a six-story, suite-style residence hall at First and Peabody that will open in fall 2013. Garner Hall will be demolished this summer, and Forbes Hall will come down in the summer of 2013 once the second hall is completed. The third building will be built near Forbes Hall, said Kirsten Ruby, assistant director of housing for marketing.

Trustees voted in 2008 to name the complex for Stanley O. Ikenberry, who was UI president from 1979 to 1995 and interim president in 2009-2010.

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http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2012/03/champaign_sets_date_to_break_ground_on_hindu_temple

Thomas Thoren The Daily Illini

Posted: March 14, 2012 - 11:38 PM

Updated: March 14, 2012 - 11:47 PM
Champaign will feature the only Hindu temple within a 100-mile radius before the end of the year.

After five years of fundraising — since purchasing land near Mattis Avenue and Hensley Road in 2007 — the Hindu Temple and Cultural Society of Central Illinois has raised enough money to move forward with the temple’s construction, said Pradeep Khanna, vice president of the temple.

“We can start and complete construction this year,” he said. “It is good to finally see it take off.”

The project will begin construction in April, with an expected completion date for the first phase in the fall. This phase will include the temple and a small library, as well as a parking lot and landscaping for a total area of about 5,000 square feet. The second phase **— a 1,500 square foot expansion designed to house temple statues — will finish in 2013.

Currently, the local Hindu community travels to one of three Hindu temples, ranging from 100 miles to 150 miles away, said Kiran
Topudurti, president of the temple.“Most people go to Aurora and Lemont … generally on a weekly basis,” he said. These two temples — the Sri Venkateswara Temple of Greater Chicago and The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, respectively — are in addition to the Hindu Temple of Central Illinois, located about 100 miles away in Peoria.

The local temple project — including land acquisition and both phases — will cost approximately $1.7 million. One way the temple has come up with the necessary money is through its annual fundraising dinner. This year’s installation is on Saturday, March 17 at 6 p.m. in the I-Hotel. Khanna said one-third of the ticket revenue will fund the dinner with the remaining two-thirds going directly toward funding the temple.

Of the land plot’s 40 acres, the temple and its parking lot will occupy only about five acres, Khanna said. The remaining land will be contracted out to a farmer who will maintain it as soybean and corn fields. This land parcel was selected because of its proximity to the University along with most of the served population, Topudurti said.

Many University students are only able to visit a temple when they return home, said Laxmi Shastry, president of the Hindu registered student organization and junior in LAS, Dharma. There is “a big vacuum that we found in this community” because Hindu students do not have a local place to worship or celebrate holidays, Dharma said.

A local temple would be more than just that; it would also “build a sense of community” among area residents, Topudurti said. Because they lack a dedicated meeting place, members of the local Hindu community currently hold meetings in members’ homes and hold events at places such as the Urbana Civic Center or the purchased land plot for outdoor events.

Khanna said the temple will serve as a community service-minded cultural center as well. He said he hopes it will be a place for community social gatherings and will begin offering classes in areas such as language and dance to the general central Illinois community, with a start date sometime in 2013.“This is a defining moment for the Hindu community in central Illinois,” Topudurti said.


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http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/restaurants/2012-03-25/city-wants-develop-land-sixth-green-instead-keeping-it-parking.

City wants to develop land at Sixth, Green instead of keeping it for parking
Sun, 03/25/2012 - 10:00am | Patrick Wade, staff writer,

Photo by: Vanda Bidwell/The News-Gazette
Customers pay for parking on Lot J at Green and Sixth streets in Champaign.

CHAMPAIGN — Within the next two weeks, the city will begin asking builders to submit proposals for the redevelopment of a key parking lot on Green Street in Campustown. Officials think that the construction of a new, presumably multimillion-dollar building near Sixth and Green streets could be completed by summer 2014 if they get the right offers. Right now, Lot J is a paved area between Legends and Chipotle.
"In all honesty, a surface parking lot is not the highest and best use for that property," said Planning Director Bruce Knight.Knight and other city officials believe that property to be among the highest-valued real estate in downstate Illinois, and they are in the process of getting it appraised. For decades, it sat in the Boneyard Creek floodway, which delayed its redevelopment.

That was the case in the mid-2000s, when the city worked with JSM Development and developer George Shapland to try a similar project. The design — known as the G6 project — included plans for a 14-story apartment building with two floors of commercial space and a 400-space parking deck on Lot J. But then it got too expensive, and Knight said the flooding issues were the most serious problem."That significantly changed the kind of project that could be built," Knight said. "Because of that and because of the added expense that it created, they decided to scale back." The biggest change is that, since the city has made improvements to the Boneyard Creek, the property is no longer in the floodway. Technically, it's still in the flood plain, Knight said, but only because the Federal Emergency Management Agency has yet to update its maps.

"We know that area is no longer in the flood plain," Knight said, but that won't be reflected in updated FEMA maps for another 18 months or so. In the meantime, any prospective developer would have to design around flood plain regulations."We think that because the flood plain issues are nearly resolved or close enough to being resolved that we can get through the construction phase," Knight said.The city council could see the proposals later this year, and construction could begin in 2013. The city hopes to have a new building on that lot by 2014.That segment of Green Street has become more valuable for retailers following flood control and streetscape improvements in recent years, Knight said. Even the failed G6 project eventually became a commercial building at Sixth and Green streets, where Noodles & Company and Chipotle opened shop. Urban Outfitters opened in a seven-story building across the street in 2008.

"The national firms have seen the value of that area," Knight said. What the Lot J development will look like and how it will be used is yet to be seen, but Knight said the most likely outcome is some kind of mixed-use building. That could be restaurant or retail space on the ground floor and residential or office space on the upper floors.The city will require any design to include, at a minimum, the same amount of public parking that currently exists in Lot J. But Knight said he hopes that developers would provide even more than that.Officials are already thinking about how to provide public parking during construction. According to city documents, they are in discussions with the University of Illinois to see if there's a chance to use university-owned lots. They are also encouraging developers to submit temporary parking solutions with their proposals.This story appeared in print on March 18.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/restaurants/2012-03-28/developments-planned-near-boneyard-basin.html

Developments planned near Boneyard Basin
Wed, 03/28/2012 - 8:00am | Don Dodson, staff writer,

CHAMPAIGN — Champaign developer Dan Hamelberg said he plans to move ahead with designs for a new apartment community along First Street, west of the Boneyard Basin.Meanwhile, the owner of an adjacent auto body shop at the northeast corner of First Street and Springfield Avenue said he plans to tear it down and replace it with a new commercial building.Together, those two developments have the potential to significantly change the looks of First Street north of Springfield Avenue."Both fit in well with our vision for the area," Champaign Planning Director Bruce Knight said.Hamelberg, who owns several properties in the First and Stoughton street area, said he plans to renovate a 12-unit apartment building at 103 E. Stoughton St."Everything else is coming down by the end of the year," Hamelberg said.That includes the Blue Star convenience store building at 408 S. First St.; a former self-service laundry building at 308 S. First St.; and a house at 101 E. Stoughton St.On those properties, Hamelberg's apartments company, the University Group, plans to construct three or four new apartment buildings in a "village-style" development.That development would include 15,000 to 20,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level. Hamelberg envisions one or two restaurants there — possibly a sandwich shop and a sit-down restaurant, "probably non-Italian," he said.Hamelberg said the buildings would be either three- or four-story and have one or two-bedroom apartments geared toward "older students."The University Group has been working with architect Kennedy Hutson Associates on plans for the development, but construction isn't expected to begin until next year, Hamelberg said.

Meanwhile, Jin Hwan Park said he plans to develop a two-story building at the northeast corner of First and Springfield, where Jin's Pro Auto Body was located.That business closed about eight months ago, and Park said the structure will be demolished "pretty quick" to make way for the new building. Park said he's still working with the city on details of the new building, but plans to "start it this year."Park said he intends to operate a Japanese restaurant on the first floor of the new building and perhaps lease the second floor as commercial space."It's going to be a good location to connect campus and downtown," Park said.Park, originally from South Korea, said he may include some Korean cuisine at the restaurant.Knight said Park's project would have outdoor seating overlooking the Boneyard Basin. Knight said all new construction along the basin must be at least two stories tall and have a certain amount of window space on the facade."We'd certainly like to see a continuation of these types of projects along the basin," Knight said.

Hamelberg said after the University Group's plans for the east side of First Street are complete, the company intends to develop a four- to five-story apartment building on the west side of First Street.That would be at 309 S. First St., where the University Group's offices are currently located. Hamelberg's son, Chris, is the company's general manager.The new multistory building would house the University Group and other offices on its main floor, have apartments on its upper floors and feature a central courtyard, Dan Hamelberg said.In another recent move, the University Group has acquired the former Starr Imports building at 309 S. Locust St., with plans to renovate it for the University Group's maintenance division.Eventually, the company may add an upper story to the building and create more apartments there, Hamelberg said.Hamelberg first outlined his vision for the First Street developments in 2009. But at the time, he said he didn't expect work to begin on the projects until at least 2011. Originally, he considered both apartments and condominiums, but has since settled on apartments.

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How about some pictures?

I suppose that would help urbs. I will figure out how to take the pictures from the articles to post them. Right now this is the most text heavy continuous thread on skyscrapercity, atleast I believe it is and I am very proud of that :lol::lol::lol::nuts::nuts::nuts:

^ Since Dr. Wong was complaining:

A few months old but still relevant:

Blue Waters petaflop supercomputer installation begins (http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/blue-waters-petaflop-supercomputer-installation-begins-20120130/)

Jan. 30, 2012 (12:17 pm) By: Matthew Humphries

Blue Waters will be one of the most powerful supercomputers on the planet when it finally gets built. Its sustained performance is expected to exceed 1 petaflop, which will be put to good use tackling real-world problems in the fields of science and engineering.

However, the machine was approved for funding back in 2007 and has yet to be built at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) located at the University of Illinois. The problem: complexity. IBM spent three years trying to plan the build and then threw in the towel. Then Cray stepped in and the machine has now started being installed, with a completion date expected before 2012 is over.

Cray is receiving $188 million for building Blue Waters, and it’s clear to see why the machine is so expensive. It will use 235 Cray XE6 cabinets that use AMD’s 16-core Opteron 6200 processors combined with 4GB of memory per Opteron core for a total of 1.5 petabytes. Messaging will be handled by Cray’s scalable Gemini high-performance interconnect and the system will run Cray’s scalable Linux Environment and GPU/CPU Programming Environment.

Even when the above system is built, Cray intends to expand upon it with a further 30 cabinets containing Cray XK6 blades that use Nvidia’s Tesla GPUs with Kepler architecture.

As for storage, there will be 500 petabytes available and 300Gbps wide area connections. The file system running on this storage will be the Cray Lustre parallel file system, which is capable of terabyte-per-second storage bandwidth.

Everything about Blue Waters screams performance, and it will be put to good use. Planned projects include modeling molecular assemblies to advance nanotechnology, looking at how viruses enter our cells, figuring out how earthquakes cause damage, how tornadoes are formed, helping to design new systems for avionics and automobiles, and looking at how the universe has evolved since its inception.

^ Since Dr. Wong was complaining:

Thanks Urbs. :)
Every contribrution is appreciated. :lol:
Illinois is a great state even outside of Chicago. :nuts:

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/features/its-your-business/2012-04-01/its-your-business-coffee-shop-coming-urbana.html



Artist co-op to take new name
Look for the Shared Space artist cooperative in downtown Urbana to adopt a new name.The co-op, which recently marked its second anniversary, plans to change its name to Eclectic: an artist co-op.Its gallery at 123 W. Main St. features a variety of artwork including watercolor and acrylic paintings, charcoal drawings, glass, ceramics, photos, collages, beaded jewelry and cards.Susan Pryde, director of Shared Space, said the new name is supposed to convey the message that the co-op offers unusual, one-of-a-kind arts and crafts.

The old name, she said, sounded like a place that rents studio or office space.
Pryde said more than 85 artists and crafters have been members of Shared Space, and 50 are members now. Sales in the past year were double what they were the previous year.But rents have gone up, and sales "need to grow more in order for us to become self-sustaining," she said.Pryde said she has secured a new domain name — eclecticartistcoop.com — but that web address is not yet operational.The switch to the new name is expected to take place through April and be complete by May 1.

Sculptor's work finally in place in Urbana

Mon, 04/16/2012 - 8:00am | Melissa Merli



Photo by: Robert K. O'Daniell/The News-Gazette

A sculpture by John David Mooney is lit up for the first time in the plaza just north of the Urbana City Building in Urbana on Thursday, April 12, 2012.

URBANA — Artist John David Mooney believes dusk is the "magic hour," when the colored lights on his 33-foot-high abstract sculpture outside city hall are at their most effective. That's the time the LED lights inside the stainless steel piece appear as subtle shades of blue and orange — his nod to the school colors of the University of Illinois, where he obtained his master's of fine arts degree.

The lights were turned on for the first time Thursday evening, the day after the piece was installed by a giant-crane operator.The giant abstract tree, fabricated in the U.S., Mooney said — is the final major piece for the mini-park he designed for the north side of the City Building.

Webber said he's sure they would be pleased with the more subtle effects of the LED — light-emitting diode — lights. The mayor is delighted with them because the person who invented the LED — UI engineering Professor Nick Holonyak— lives in Urbana.Mooney's starting point for the mini-park — he views it in its entirety as a work of art — was the fact Urbana is a Tree City U.S.A. From there, he planned every detail of the mini-park down to the bricks and Cold Spring granite in the walkways, the stones along the paths, the bushes, and every tree.

Now only a few small pieces are needed to complete the park. They include lighting for the 12-foot, mirrored, polished stainless steel sculpture, "Falling Leaf." Described by Mooney as a "hidden surprise," "Falling Leaf" was placed several years ago in a fountain several yards behind the newly placed sculpture."Falling Leaf" is partly obscured by a semi-circular earthen mound, a reference by the artist to the native American earthen ceremonial ring that he mentally connects to the council chambers inside the city building.Also, bushes will be planted around the base of the huge sculpture out front, along Vine Street. And, finally, Mooney will have fabricated a table and benches of granite, for a circular, shaded space next to the City Building. The U.S. General Services Administration salvaged the granite while working on Chicago's Federal Plaza and gave it to the John David Mooney Foundation.


http://www.news-gazette.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/art/2012-04-16/sculptors-work-finally-place-urbana.html[/url]




http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2012/04/15/20120415-175057-pic-671014225.jpg[url]

Noyes Laboratory undergoing construction

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2012/04/noyes_to_undergo_construction

Carina Lee The Daily Illini

Posted: April 19, 2012 - 1:22 PM

Updated: April 20, 2012 - 12:43 AM

Noyes Laboratory is currently undergoing construction to repair parts of the building. Ken Wooldridge, operation manger of the school of Chemical Science, said that Noyes began construction on the outside of the building last Monday. “We are just starting the fencing of the exterior of the building for safety purposes,” he said. “They will start by cleaning the exterior of the building, starting to repair the brick and the motor joints around the external part of the building. “

Wooldridge also added that certain areas of the building will be restored and preserved during the construction “In conjunction with that, they will be rebuilding the chimneys above and around the parameter of the building,” Wooldridge said. “They are restoring those for historical value so they are trying to use the original brick as much as they can.” During the project, most entrances will be closed off, but the northeast corner exit will remain open so that the building will remain accessible for students with disabilities.
Bike racks have also been temporarily removed, but students can use the bike racks at the Illini Union, Chemistry Annex building, Morrill and the Burrill Hall.

Pretty cool - Lincoln Hall definitely needed some love - it'll be interesting to see what they do to bring it up to the level of other buildings on the Quad.

Neat - gotta love the addition of some public art to the downtown area.

Neat - gotta love the addition of some public art to the downtown area.

its been a couple of years since Ive been down there. I like to keep up with whats going on so that I know what to check out when I go back down again, when I get my act together I will post photos from the news articles. I havent been back down there since I started this thread.

Its the best area in Illinois outside of the Chicago Area IMHO.
:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/miscellaneous/2012-05-08/chicago-title-moving-m2.html

CHAMPAIGN — Chicago Title Insurance Co. plans to move its Champaign office to the M2 on Neil building this fall, according to a release from One Main Development, the building's developer.

Chicago Title, now at 201 N. Neil St., C, would move a block north and occupy nearly 5,000 square feet on the third floor of M2, the release stated.The move is expected to take place in August or September, said Cynthia Faullin, One Main's vice president of development.

Adrian Peppers, area manager for Chicago Title, was not immediately available for comment. The local Chicago Title office employs about 15 and provides title examination, title insurance and real estate closing services, according to the release.

Another downtown Champaign business, Alpha-Care Health Professionals, moved its office from 115 N. Neil St., C, to the third floor of M2 earlier this year. The nine-story mixed-use building has a bank office and three restaurants on the first floor, office space on the second through fifth floors and residential condominiums on the sixth through ninth floors.

Champaign OKs hotel deal; also approves step toward research park extension

Tue, 05/01/2012 - 9:28pm | Patrick Wade, staff writer,

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2012-05-01/champaign-oks-hotel-deal-also-approves-step-toward-research-park-ex


CHAMPAIGN – The city council on Tuesday night green-lighted one of the first steps toward continuing development of the University of Illinois Research Park to the east.A $4.9 million, state-funded project will allow officials to extend a network of roads to the east of First Street, including South Fourth Street from St. Mary's Road to Windsor Road. City council members unanimously signed off on the project.

Construction was to be funded with just over $6 million with money from the state's capital program, Illinois Jobs Now!. Project bids came in about 35 percent under an engineer's estimate, which leaves more than $1 million to fund other Research Park capital projects. City officials say the University of Illinois is drafting a list of projects for which that extra state money might be used.

In other business, the city council formally approved a seven-year, $3 million tax rebate program for a proposed downtown hotel. The hotel, scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2013, will be located at the corner of Church and Neil streets, where a 2008 fire destroyed the historic Metropolitan Building.City officials believe developing that corner will strengthen the downtown area's business climate. The agreement give administrators the authority to rebate up to $3 million in tax revenue the hotel business generates in its first seven years.
“There is so much value in us getting rid of that hole,” said council member Tom Bruno. “That is worth so much to us, that that alone is worth the investment to the city.”

Im trying to post my first image. :nuts:
Wow its about TIME!!!

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2012-05-01/downtown-champaign-hotel-would-be-hyatt-place.html


Downtown Champaign hotel would be Hyatt Place
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 8:00am | Don Dodson, staff writer,
Photo by: DLR Group



CHAMPAIGN — The developer of a proposed downtown Champaign hotel said he has applied to have it branded as a Hyatt Place.Hans Grotelueschen called Hyatt Place "an upscale, select-service brand" well-suited for the project proposed for the southwest corner of Neil and Church streets.Hyatt Place hotels are generally mid-sized properties, with 125 to 200 rooms, often located in suburban areas or near airports. They offer limited services, compared with the larger Hyatt Regency and Grand Hyatt brands.As proposed, the Champaign hotel would have 145 rooms, with rooms located on the top five floors of the nine-story building.Parking would be on the second through fourth floors, with the lobby and a small bar-cafe on the main floor.

According to the Hyatt website, Hyatt Place properties generally have a Bakery Cafe that offers pastries, coffee and wine and a Guest Kitchen that serves complimentary breakfasts. Guest can also order soups, salads and sandwiches there.Hyatt Place, a brand launched in 2006, now has more than 160 hotels in the U.S., catering to both business travelers and families.The hotels have meeting rooms for small corporate events. Guest rooms are equipped with 42-inch high-definition flat-panel TVs, complimentary wi-fi and a supplemental sleeper-sofa.

Tuesday night, the Champaign City Council will consider approving $3 million in rebates on tax dollars generated by the hotel during its first seven years of operation. Here is a link to the 70-page pdf of the document the council will consider.Grotelueschen said he has not yet completed a franchise agreement, hired a builder, hired an operator or secured financing for the project, pending the council vote.The local project would be the first Hyatt Place in downstate Illinois. There are several in the Chicago area — Hoffman Estates, Itasca, Lombard, Schaumburg and Warrenville — as well as several in surrounding states, including two in Indianapolis and Milwaukee, and one each in Fort Wayne, Ind.; South Bend, Ind.; Des Moines, Iowa, and Madison, Wis.

Grotelueschen — who announced the project in September 2011 and disclosed details of it in February — said he would like to break ground for the Champaign hotel in the next 30 to 60 days, with hopes of completing the project by Aug. 15, 2013. Previous timetables had mentioned a slightly earlier target for completion.The developer has said he plans to tear down the YG Financial Group building at 115 W. Church St. to make room for the hotel, which would be built on the site formerly occupied by the Metropolitan Building.That building was destroyed by fire in 2008, and an adjacent law-office building to the south had to be torn down due to structural damage. Some of YG Financial Group's offices have already relocated to the renovated Blue Line Station building at 804 N. Neil St., C.


http://assets.news-gazette.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/lightbox_800_600_scale/images/2012/04/30/20120430-180206-pic-774462812.jpg


A drawing of the proposed Hyatt Place hotel at the corner of Church and Neil streets in downtown Champaign.

It would be great to see some pictures of all this developement. I have never been to the city and am dying to see some streetscape photos. (Google streetview has covered a whole 2 streets in all of downtown.)

OKay, years later I finally got my act together.

Now THIS is what I call development thread.. :okay:

:lol: THanks Urb.
I think the number of views for this thread will now jump up considerably.
They always say that a picture is worth a thousand words.
A man can not live on text alone.:nuts:

OKay, years later I finally got my act together.

Thank you Mohammed, that hotel looks like it will be an amazing addition to downtown. I wish I could find an excuse to travel through that area to see the city for myself. Thanks for posting the picture!

Thank you Mohammed, that hotel looks like it will be an amazing addition to downtown. I wish I could find an excuse to travel through that area to see the city for myself. Thanks for posting the picture!

No problem. Nice enough addition to Champaign which WARRANTED me getting off my lazy but to figure out how to post a picture, which is very very easy. Too bad C-U doesnt have the state capital in it, then it would be very similar to Madison, still C-U is a very cool little area that is doing quite well for itself.

No problem. Nice enough addition to Champaign which WARRANTED me getting off my lazy but to figure out how to post a picture, which is very very easy. Too bad C-U doesnt have the state capital in it, then it would be very similar to Madison, still C-U is a very cool little area that is doing quite well for itself.

^ Ann Arbor, MI is an example of a college town that doesn't need to also be a state capital to be hip and fun.

I've never been to C-U so I can't compare, but if it's anything like Ann Arbor I would definitely like to check it out

^^^^ True Urb., But Ann Arbor also is close to Detroit and Detroit burbs, which does help it out.

C-U is different in that its about 2.5 hours south of Chicago
and is pretty isolated, but that can be a good thing too. Its a fun place to visit. I would like to see more going on there, hopefully
the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies gets built some day.

http://www.uif.uillinois.edu/storydetail.aspx?id=909

speaking of Roger Ebert here are some pics from the recent film festival
down there in Champaign Urbana


http://www.news-gazette.com/multimedia/photogallery/2012-04-26/14th-annual-roger-eberts-film-festival-2012


It wont let me post the photos, there a couple good ones, The Virginia is a beautiful OLD MOVIE theatre,
the way movies WERE MEANT to be watched. I will have to go down there one year, very cool film festival
of overlooked films


https://plus.google.com/photos/107844152247640801199/albums/5736738162408215073/5736770094584526834?banner=pwa&gpsrc=pwrd1