The florist named “Fleurish” is located at 122 North Walnut Street in Downtown Champaign which was formerly Rick Orr Florist. The shop is located in a building constructed in 1889 and is designated as a local historic landmark. Since the building is a local landmark, adding a sign to the façade of the building required a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission. The HPC reviewed the request at their meeting on December 6th and approved the request. The sign request was first submitted to the Planning Department just one week prior to that HPC meeting. One of the barriers of convincing property owners to nominate the structures for local historic landmark status is a perception that any change to the property requires a long and arduous review process. This case is an example of how quick and efficient the process can be for a Certificate of Appropriateness to be reviewed by the HPC. Within a week of the approval by the HPC, the business had the sign installed which now promotes their local business while respecting the historic nature of the building.
