The City of Champaign is proud to announce that on January 24, 2020, the United States Department of the Interior and National Park Service added the Champaign Downtown Commercial District to the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District. The new Champaign Downtown Commercial District contains 52 contributing and 11 non-contributing structures and encompasses 19.4 acres. A map showing the boundaries of the Historic District is attached.
According to the National Park Service’s website, “The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources.”
The benefits of the Historic District designation include property owner access to a 20% income tax credit for the rehabilitation of income-producing historic structures within the district, access to the National Park Service’s Technical Preservation Services, and overall increased awareness of Downtown Champaign’s history and heritage through increased educational and promotional opportunities.
Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen stated, “This designation is a wonderful recognition of the historic structures that remain a significant part of our revitalized Downtown. Additionally, it provides downtown property owners access to new funding sources as they continue to work to rehabilitate and preserve downtown’s historic buildings. We look forward to the continued and growing success of our Downtown as additional buildings in our City’s core are restored and rebuilt.”
This designation was made possible through a public/private partnership involving the City of Champaign, Mr. Nigel Morgan, Mrs. Janet Bubin, and Dr. William Youngerman who initiated the process and engaged the consulting partners (Valerie Olafson and Pam Hein of Rockford) who completed the research and application for the nomination.
The nomination application is available for review at bit.ly/DowntownChampaignDistrict.