Understanding Downtown (2002 Plan)

Thanks to the dedication of business owners, the loyalty of area residents, and the support of city leaders. Downtown Urbana has worked hard to hold its place among the retail and commercial marketplaces of greater Champaign-Urbana. While this continues to be a challenge, opportunities for revitalization are within reach, and could be achieved by capitalizing on the current assets of the area and the skills, creativity, and affection of residents.

Understanding the state of downtown Urbana and the factors that have shaped it is necessary before developing strategies to realize this revitalization.  In particular, knowledge of the geographic and demographic context, the land use activities found in the downtown, current zoning, and physical characteristics will help paint a picture of the current state of downtown Urbana. It is upon this base that an enhanced downtown environment can be built.

Demographic and Geographic Context

Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, and together with its neighbor Champaign, Urbana is part of the largest urban area in the county and one of the largest urban areas in central Illinois.  According to the 2000 Census, Urbana has a population of approximately 36,400.  Champaign is almost twice as populous, with roughly 67,500 residents.  Combined, the two cities are home to nearly 58 percent of the residents of Champaign County.

The challenge facing downtown Urbana relates in part to its location within the metropolitan area.  The downtown is located on the eastern end of Champaign-Urbana, but most of the urbanized area and the center of population are located to the west of the downtown.  (See Figure 1, Population Estimate.)  This means that downtown Urbana, unlike downtown Champaign, is relatively distant from many of the newer, populous housing developments of southwestern Champaign.  In addition, Figure 2, Shopping Districts, shows that other major shopping areas are located much closer to most residents of Champaign than downtown Urbana.  Furthermore, downtown Urbana is located more than a mile off Interstate 74.  In contrast, the area's largest shopping centers are located just off the interstate at North Neil Street and North Prospect Street in Champaign—a far easier destination to reach for out-of-town shoppers than downtown Urbana.

Another factor affecting downtown Urbana is the unusual tripartite division of the metropolitan area: the city of Champaign, the city of Urbana, and the University of Illinois, which is almost a city unto itself.  Many single cities of the combined size of Champaign, Urbana, and the University have a difficult enough time revitalizing their downtown areas, but the fact that Champaign-Urbana has three downtowns (Campustown serving this function for the University), makes revitalization that much more daunting.  The most successful renewal to date has taken place in downtown Champaign, which has the advantages of being in the larger of the twin cities and more centrally located.  Retail sales figures confirm downtown Urbana's place on the fringe of the metropolitan area.  Total retail sales for greater Champaign-Urbana were approximately $1.85 billion in 1999.(Source: Claritas, Inc.)  Downtown Urbana accounted for approximately $65 million in 1999, or roughly 4 percent of the regional total.

Functional Zones

Downtown consists of a number of functional zones, as shown in Figure 3, Existing Functional Zones.  Since these functional zones are distinguished in large part by physical characteristics, a descriptive review of them prior to a discussion of zoning and land use gives a sense of the appearance and character of the various areas comprising downtown Urbana.

At the heart of the area is the “Downtown Core,” which consists of clusters of mixed shops and services typically associated with a traditional downtown.  However, the core is very small, comprised of only a few blocks.  Brick buildings built closely to the streets characterize the core and make for an interesting and comfortable pedestrian environment.

To the south, the “Lincoln Square Mall Zone” is comprised primarily of the mall and Jumer’s Hotel—two destinations that historically have been major attractions in downtown Urbana.  Although the physical connection of this zone to the downtown core works fairly well on Elm Street, the large parking lots that separate the buildings from the streets poorly define the southern entrance into downtown.

In the “Government Zone,” concentrates a range of government functions between the core and mall zones.  These include the federal courthouse, post office, Champaign County Courthouse and Sheriff’s Office, and the Urbana City Hall, Library, and Civic Center.  This district represents a strong employment and activity base that is, in effect, a captive market for downtown.

Immediately north of the downtown core is the “Downtown Secondary Support Zone.”  The function of this “Near North” area is ill-defined.  Although it does contain a small cluster of shopping and entertainment attractions, it is primarily a collection of parking lots.  Given its proximity to the downtown core and limited number of buildings, this zone is underutilized.

To the far north and northeast, a “Highway-Oriented Mixed-Use” and an “Auto-Oriented Mixed-Use Zone” occupy large areas.  These zones contain developments such as fast food restaurants and strip shopping centers that are designed specifically to accommodate automobile traffic.  These developments are not built to a downtown scale and, therefore, are difficult for pedestrians to utilize.

A small “Service Zone” is located along east Main Street and Vine Street.  This zone contains primarily automobile service providers.

Two “Industrial Zones” exist within the Study Area.  The zone between Vine Street and Broadway, at University Avenue, contains a sporting goods manufacturer.  This is a highly visible location due to the intersection of University and Cunningham Avenues, one of the busiest corners in Champaign County.  The second industrial zone forms part of the northeastern boundary of the Study Area at Main and Maple Streets. 

“Residential Zones” are located throughout the Study Area and contain a mix of single-family and multi-family dwelling units.  Notably, a zone of “Mixed Office/Residential” is located directly to the south and southwest of the Downtown Core/Lincoln Square Mall zones.  This zone contains a mix of existing homes converted to offices, as well as new office structures.

Although outside of the Study Area, it is important to note a “Medical Zone” to the northwest of downtown.  This is the location of Carle Hospital and Clinics, major regional medical destinations.

Figure 4, Building Conditions, indicates that even as downtown Urbana suffered a deterioration in vitality, it has not suffered much physical deterioration.  The vast majority of buildings throughout the downtown area are sound or suffer only minor deficiencies.

Zoning

The current zoning for the downtown does not encourage the concentration of retail, commercial, and office uses necessary to create a vital place.  (See Figure 5, Existing Zoning.)  Instead, the B-4 "Central Business" zoning classification extends over a huge area, roughly from University Avenue on the north to Illinois Street on the south, bounded by Race Street on the west and Vine Street on the east.  In a sense, this arrangement leads to "downtown sprawl," where desirable uses are spread over such a large expanse that a strong, coherent center cannot be maintained.  This problem is compounded by the MOR "Mixed Office/Residential" zoning located mostly to the west of the downtown, along Green and Elm streets.  While the idea of areas with mixed uses is a good one, in the case of Urbana the MOR zoning may be causing people to locate commercial and office investments—and employment opportunities—outside of the downtown core.

Land Use

The existing land use in the downtown, shown in Figure 7, Existing Land Use, demonstrates the consequences of the zoning strategy to date.  Only a few blocks in the core offer the fine-grained mix of uses that one expects to see in a vibrant downtown.  The north side of Main Street west of Race Street and both sides of Main between Race and Broadway are the chief examples of this type.  Lincoln Square Mall contains a number of "typical" downtown uses, but its location more than a block away from Main Street siphons some of the potential energy away from the street.

Auto-oriented uses dominate the areas around the intersection of University and Cunningham avenues, as well as along the east side of Vine Street near Main.  Many of these uses represent retail stores serving everyday needs, such as supermarkets, fast-food outlets, banks, service stations, and video stores.  Some of these types of businesses are clearly auto-oriented, but others might fit successfully into a traditional downtown.

Residential uses are located to the east, south, west, and northwest of the Main Street core, but not to the north or northeast.  In addition, the large Lincoln Square site serves as a sizable barrier between the housing to the south (and to some extent, the west and east as well) and the Main Street core.

The only major industrial use in the area is located just south of the southwest corner of University and Cunningham, on a prominent site.  The downtown also lacks significant green space; public parks are only located on the edge of the area, to the west and north.

Evidence of how this diffuse environment functions in the real world can be seen in Figure 6, Where Do You Shop Downtown?.  Participants of the Town Hall meeting held in July of 2000 have identified four major shopping destinations, none of which are directly adjacent to each other: Strawberry Field natural food store, Main Street between Race and Broadway, Lincoln Square Mall, and Schnucks supermarket.  These destinations would likely benefit from some synergy if they were located closer within a pedestrian environment or if other compatible uses filled the spaces between them.

Another notable feature of the land use pattern is that much of the fabric of the downtown core also now consists of very large-scale buildings on large lots. Examples along Main Street include Busey Bank, the County Plaza office building, the Champaign County Sheriff's Office, and the Champaign County Courthouse.  The existence of these large-scale uses vastly impairs the ambiance created by the two- to three-story commercial buildings that form the streetscape of the traditional Main Street blocks.

Another way to look at the status of downtown Urbana is through an examination of the building area devoted to various land uses.  Table 1 reveals some interesting statistics.  Fully one-third of the total square footage in downtown Urbana is devoted to retail uses.  Public, semi-public, and government uses comprise nearly a quarter of all the space.  Somewhat surprisingly, given the common impression of Lincoln Square Mall, only four percent of the building space in downtown Urbana is vacant. 

Retail business traditionally has been one of the chief functions of downtowns.  It continues to be important today, though not in the same way.  In the past, downtown was the chief source of everyday needs as well as special goods and services.  Today, however, auto-oriented shopping centers serve basic needs, while successful downtowns concentrate on specialty goods, eating and drinking establishments, and entertainment.  Table 2 shows how Urbana's downtown retail scene looks at present.  "Downtown Urbana" as defined in the table, however, includes not only the Main Street core, but also the auto-oriented uses along University and Vine Streets, as well as a shopping mall (Lincoln Square).  This means that one or two major stores may be responsible for much of the total of some categories.  Nevertheless, the greater downtown has a fairly diverse range of retail stores; no category accounts for more than 18 percent of the total.

Conclusions

Based upon the existing conditions and characteristics described above, six conclusions about downtown Urbana can be reached.