Review of Champaign

[madpaddy]

The Census Bureau just released their latest (2018) population estimates for the Champaign area.

Champaign: 88029, up 7.9% since 2010
Savoy: 8418, up 13.9% since 2010
Mahomet: 8628, up 15.9% since 2010
Urbana: 42046, up 1.9% since 2010

With both major hospitals plus the majority of the U-of-I situated within the city boundaries, and no shortage of real estate suitable for building (i.e, it's far from a built-out, "land-locked" situation), the lack of growth relative to it's neighbors speaks volumes about Urbana's attractiveness, or lack thereof, to developers, investors, and families in general.

[Cat777]

Originally Posted by madpaddy

Champaign: 88029, up 7.9% since 2010
Savoy: 8418, up 13.9% since 2010
Mahomet: 8628, up 15.9% since 2010
Urbana: 42046, up 1.9% since 2010

lack of growth relative to it's neighbors speaks volumes about Urbana's attractiveness, or lack thereof, to developers, investors, and families in general.

I would say the 1.9% growth over 9 years is simply buoy behavior, growth induced solely from much greater growth in direct surrounding areas. Otherwise, it would almost certainly be in negative territory.

[FalstaffBlues]

I live there. The place is growing like crazy, but not necessarirly in a good way.

Champaign was never one of those great american college towns, imo. Not like Bloomington IN and Columbia, Mo. Now the parts of town that did have that cool vibe are being razed and replaced with sterile uninteresting developments.

Downtown's redevelopment has certainly been a mostly welcome sight. The good of the old grit remains.

Urbana remains the coolest part of the metro (I think its a metro at this point).

[riffle]

I forgot to mention - WYXY Savoy is a great classic country station!

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by FalstaffBlues

I live there. The place is growing like crazy, but not necessarirly in a good way.

Champaign was never one of those great american college towns, imo. Not like Bloomington IN and Columbia, Mo. Now the parts of town that did have that cool vibe are being razed and replaced with sterile uninteresting developments.

Downtown's redevelopment has certainly been a mostly welcome sight. The good of the old grit remains.

Urbana remains the coolest part of the metro (I think its a metro at this point).

Unfortunately some of what you described is happening to many college towns across the country w.r.t. uninteresting, cookie-cutter development. I lived in Madison for years (got my graduate degrees there), and it was then, and still is now, a great college town. But even when I was living there, development was favoring bland 12-14 floor condos billed as "luxury living" whilst a lot of the more interesting and eccentric places were being closed or razed. Whenever I go back, it seems like another sterile, boring condo building has gone up.

Don't get me wrong--Madison is still a great place, but some of its former best areas are being lost as it rapidly grows.