More Lincoln Square Input

[UPDATE: A blurb from yesterday's News-Gazette had additional news about input from the Square Advisory Board as well:

I was waiting for it to appear on the main website, but it doesn't appear that this little blurb is getting that treatment. It's available on the eEdition here.]

Following up on previous requests for input on the future of Lincoln Square Mall property by the City of Urbana and the owner pointing out that he has final say and it was weird he wasn't included in this future planning... more planning sessions and ideas have been sprouting up in the news. First from yesterday's News-Gazette:

85 people representing 40 groups give input on Lincoln Square's future
Representatives from around 40 local organizations gathered at Lincoln Square Mall on Tuesday to discuss how the area can be revitalized.

The Lincoln Square area is 16 acres bordered by Race, Vine, Illinois and Elm Streets. It includes the mall and Landmark Hotel, which are privately owned, along with city-owned public parking lots.

Tuesday's meeting drew around 85 people from area businesses, engineering groups, brokers, realtors, law firms, small businesses, contractors, homebuilders, banks and developers. There were also attendees from groups including Visit Champaign County and the Champaign County Economic Development Corp. and its Small Business Development Center.

The full article available here. And from Smile Politely editorial board today:

A park proposal for Lincoln Square
...
Urbana's Market at the Square — held every Saturday, May through November — is the most vibrant and engaging weekly outdoor activity in a 60 mile radius. It takes place in one of the aforementioned parking lots, at the southeast corner of Vine and Illinois. The lot south of Illinois, nearby public street parking, and the Urbana parking garage are existing parking options that should be able to handle the current Saturday morning traffic. The lot south of Illinois needs to be marked as accessible parking; additional parking needs for nearby businesses can be voiced and addressed during public feedback periods. Though humor us for a moment — allow us, just for this moment, to look beyond some very practical and important details in order to imagine a future version of this space that could change the way we live and appreciate Urbana.

Our immediate suggestion is to let the leases on the south side parking lots expire, and turn them into a fabulous, and well programmed public park. Forget the actual mall itself for the moment. Its future, who owns it, and how it functions within this proposal, will hinge on a decision like this one. We can talk about the actual mall and hotel in a different column.

This park should be designed with its crown jewel — the market — in mind. It should be a park that is seamless with a plaza that can host the Saturday market, but be plenty more the other 7 nights and 6 days of the week.

It should be expansive, from Race to Vine, but with the future in mind, mostly. No cars should be able to drive into it, except for emergencies, or to load and unload for the market or a special event. There should be old growth trees planted, not for us, but for the generations to come. There should be a lot of things to do, for all kinds of people. There should be an interesting playground for families with children. There should be a dog park for people with dogs. There should be a public fitness space that encourages calisthenics. There should be walking paths that lead you in and out of the park. There should be sculptures and odd bits of artistic engagement throughout. There should be a plaza, that hosts the market, but that can be most anything at any time that isn’t 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, which is to say the Market at the Square should stay open later in the day moving forward.

It goes on at the full article here.

[Originally posted 5/17/2018 at 7:51pm]