The large parking lot at the southeast corner of Neil and Washington streets will eventually go away as part of Phase 2 of the city’s Neil Street Plaza project. In downtown Champaign on Tuesday afternoon.
CHAMPAIGN — Forty years ago, David Meyer and his wife made what he calls “the biggest investment” of their lives: buying a building at 330 N. Neil St. downtown to house Meyer Drapery Services Inc.
“The block had no retail business, except for one adult bookstore,” Meyer wrote in a letter to city officials. “The former department stores were empty, although my building was used to store golf carts in the winter. No front windows, no heat system, no bathrooms, no plumbing.”
Tax records show that the Meyers bought the property for $90,000 in September 1986 — equivalent to about $273,000 in 2026.
Despite the hurdles to opening at the location, Meyer saw the building as a worthwhile investment because of two key features: parking and visibility.
If he had known that the about 130 spaces located at the southeast corner of Neil and Washington streets would one day disappear and new amenities would clutter up the area, he’d have made a different call, he said.
The large parking lot west of Meyer’s business is slated to be replaced with various amenities and green space during Phase 2 of the city’s Neil Street Plaza project, which began construction Monday. This portion focuses on the north end of the triangular plaza, which is located along Neil Street between Washington and Main streets.
“The final completion date for the project is July 28, 2028, though I expect for many of the plaza amenities to be functional and accessible by the end of 2027,” said David Happ, a civil engineer with the city.
Work continues Tuesday on the first part of Phase 2 of Champaign’s Neil Street Plaza project on East Washington Street downtown. The initial focus is on utility and roadwork on the northeastern edge of the project.
Construction closures and arranging access
The current focus of construction is just roadway and utility work on Washington Street, starting near the intersection with Walnut Street, Happ said. The east end of Washington is limited to westbound traffic only, and by the end of August, both lanes of Washington will be closed between Hickory and Walnut streets.
The entrance to the parking lot at Neil and Washington streets will still be accessible from the west, and Happ said the city aims to keep the lot open as long as possible.
“This year’s work will focus on the east half of Washington Street and the pedestrian pathway south of the Orpheum that connects the plaza to Fremont Street,” Happ said. “The majority of the Neil/Washington lot will remain open until that new pedestrian pathway is usable. In all likelihood, the lot will remain open until early 2027.”
He added that there will be some partial closures to the lot due to utility work in the meantime, but the majority of spaces will remain open.
According to Happ, there are 129 spaces in the lot at Neil and Washington.
He also said that the city seeks to maintain pedestrian access during construction, which will be taken into account as sidewalks are poured.
“We plan on placing customized signage around the plaza to ensure visitors can find their way through the construction,” he added.
A rendering of what the Neil Street Plaza will look like, looking north from One Main, once Phase 2 is completed.
Rearranged parking plans
While a previous concept for Phase 2 included a row of angled spaces in front of businesses on the plaza, the current plan relocates it “to the perimeter,” Happ said.
Plans include 29 spaces of angled parking along Washington, five parallel spaces along Neil and 14 spaces in a lot north of The Orpheum. The latter area will switch from permit-only to metered.
Plans also include converting a lot south of the Orpheum into a pedestrian path from the plaza to the large existing parking lot at Fremont and Washington streets.
Meyer, who had hoped to see at least some storefront parking preserved, said he only found out recently that the angled parking inside the plaza had been removed from the plan.
“The vast majority of our customers are senior citizens,” he told The News-Gazette. “Parking available at a distance is not a viable alternative for the majority of our retail customers. So unfortunately, due to our type of business and our clientele, that’s really not that helpful.”
He recently sent a letter to Mayor Deb Feinen, the city council and other city officials about his concerns.
When asked why the change was made, Happ said that a car-free plaza “is a safer place,” and concerns about vehicular safety arose after incidents in other communities.
“There was a high-profile fatal vehicle/pedestrian incident on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, which was intentional vehicular terrorism, as well as the tragedy at the daycare in Chatham, which was the result of a medical event,” he said. “Following those incidents, there were concerns about vehicles circulating in the space. With all the events planned for the plaza, it makes the most sense to take vehicles out of the equation.”
Vehicles fill the spaces directly in front of the businesses in the lot at Neil and Washington streets Tuesday in downtown Champaign as equipment for Phase 2 of the city’s Neil Street Plaza project, which got underway the day before, is seen in the background. The spots will be removed as part of the project.
‘A nice area where families can get together’
According to Happ, Phase 2 of the plaza project includes:
- A lighted pop-jet fountain.
- A sloped lawn.
- Musical benches.
- Swings.
- Public restrooms.
- A court for pétanque (a game similar to bocce).
- “Unique” signage to welcome visitors entering from Neil or Fremont.
- Complete reconstruction of Washington and Neil along the plaza, including a raised intersection at Neil and Hill “to slow traffic and improve access to the Hill Street Parking Deck.”
- Small-business kiosks, which will be permanent structures on the plaza.
Duce Construction Company has been contracted to complete Phase 2 for about $13.67 million, and the company could also receive a workforce-diversity incentive of up to $341,700 from the city if certain criteria are met.
Jose Reyes, manager at Collective Pour at 340 N. Neil St., was generally positive about the project.
“It’ll solve a big issue we have in Champaign where it’s not a very walkable space, I’d say,” he said. “Obviously, we see people walking around, but not nearly as much as we should, I think. So having a nice area where families can get together and walk dogs and all that sort of stuff is a great step.”
Reyes did express a little concern about the pop-jet fountain and whether young kids might neglect to dry off before walking into nearby businesses, but he thinks the benefits of the project generally outweigh that issue.
He isn’t very concerned about the loss of storefront parking and feels that the lot at Fremont and Washington is currently “very underutilized.”
“I feel like that’ll fix that issue as well,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that there are some questions about how the parking changes will affect local business operations — such as to-go orders at Smith Burger Co., which is co-located with Collective Pour.
He also said, like Meyer, that the loss of storefront parking could be hard on the elderly.
“Some people like to park right up in front of us so they have to walk the minimal distance,” Reyes said. “And would that deter them from coming in as well because they’ll have to walk a little farther.”
Meyer Drapery in downtown Champaign on Tuesday afternoon.
‘A built-in security system’
Meyer is also concerned about how the kiosk structures on the plaza will affect businesses’ visibility from Neil Street.
He said having a store located along a major thoroughfare is like having “a built-in security system.”
Thousands of people driving through the area means thousands of eyes and less opportunities for someone with ill intent to hurt a pedestrian unnoticed, he explained.
“That’s why people feel safer walking along a major thoroughfare than walking in a back alley or whatever,” Meyer said. “So when those commercial structures go up, between that and no parking, we totally lose the street visibility in that plaza. Which means if someone is in the plaza and they have an issue with … an assault or whatever, they don’t have that street visibility to enhance their security.”
In instances where the plaza is full of people for a specific event, this will be less of an issue, he said.
Still, he feels that having booths set up during specific events and then taken away afterward would be a better way to add “commercial vibrance” to the plaza while preserving visibility from day to day.
“I don’t see the plaza as going away,” Meyer said. “So I’ve reconciled myself to that for the last 13 years.”
Still, he’d like to make sure that his businesses and others remain “alive and vibrant” through the preservation of parking and visibility.
A bird’s eye view of the plan for both phases of the Neil Street Plaza.
No major changes planned; city ‘optimistic’ on outcomes
Happ said that there is always the possibility of “minor tweaks” during construction, but he doesn’t expect “significant changes” to the plan at this point.
“For example, we could decide that a piece of sidewalk needs to be extended or a ramp needs to be added,” he said. “Like I mentioned earlier, we may decide that there is a need to convert some of the parking spaces in the Washington/Fremont lot to ADA spots,” he added, referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Happ believes that the finished plaza will draw a lot of people to this part of downtown and said that businesses have reported “positive impacts” since Phase 1 of the plaza was completed.
Phase 1 focused on the One Main Plaza at Neil and Main streets and included a stage, seating, swings, planters, shade and art, with work wrapping up in summer 2025.
More information about the plaza, including ongoing updates, can be found at engagechampaign.org/ downtownplaza.
“We are optimistic that having this new, freely available public amenity will help create the kinds of experiences that draw people out in the post-pandemic economy,” Happ said. “We think that with the day-to-day foot-traffic increase, as well as the opportunity for new programming, the plaza will be very positive for downtown.”
