There are some new developments stirring about on the North end of Downtown Champaign — as per the News-Gazette’s report for Tuesday’s City Council meeting, there has been an “OK” given to developers for this project at 500 N. Walnut, C. This is at the corner where Walnut and Washington meet, mixed with Market Street.
Yes, this is where Blind Pig’s bottling area exists, and Simply Amish, Dog Den, and more. Yes, this is in the same building that Common Ground was looking at expanding to a second location.
Check out the article linked below, but here are some portions that discuss the plans for the project, price, and that sorta thing.
This comes just a few weeks after it was announced that the development that was supposed to take over the parking lot north of the N-G building was moving south to merge with the Illinois Terminal expansion.
CHAMPAIGN — An area of city suffering from a lack of nearby grocery stores might get some relief after the Champaign City Council gave unanimous initial approval Tuesday to redeveloping the property at 500 N. Walnut St. on the northern edge of downtown.
Developer New Market Commons LLC proposed a $4.1 million overhaul of the about-30,000-square-foot property bound by Washington, Walnut and Market streets. The plan is to create leasable commercial spaces that tenants can buy and build out, interior-wise, as they see fit.
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Harrington said he couldn’t disclose names, but he’s received interest so far from potential tenants that provide specialty retail and food and beverage services. Council members Tom Bruno and Matt Gladney encouraged Harrington to consider a tenant providing fresh food. In fact, the Common Ground Food Co-op earned the council’s approval in 2015 to expand to this location but scrapped the plan shortly afterward.
“Some innovative investor might think of a smaller grocery, a green grocer or a place for greens and meats,” Bruno said. “Some place where people can walk to for healthy food that’s not from a convenience store.”
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The proposed redevelopment area is part of the Downtown Fringe TIF District established in January. If approved, the project would be the first in this district and would make the city’s financial incentive a $500,000 maximum reimbursement over a 10-year agreement.
