The Champaign City Council met last Tuesday for its weekly meeting. The meeting was largely focused on a presentation involving changes in the Economic Development Manual.
The meeting began with the approval of minutes from a previous meeting.
The changes to the Economic Development Manual include one revised program and three new programs.
The first program is the Redevelopment Incentive Program, which began in 1994. It covers up to 20% of building renovation costs which are tax increment financing eligible. It also uses a point system for determining incentives. A number of economic programs exist in Champaign to bolster the economy by establishing incentives for economic growth.
The Redevelopment Incentive Program can only be applied to renovations, not new construction.
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The council says the reason behind revising this program is that material and labor costs have increased dramatically. According to the council, there is a need for redevelopment which exists outside of downtown Champaign.
“We believe that encouraging the reuse of these buildings makes not only good financial sense but also environmental sense with the reuse of existing building materials,” stated T.J. Blakeman, the city’s economic development manager.
The Planning and Development Department of Champaign intends to update this program criteria to align with today’s challenges. They propose increasing the maximum grant amount from $100,000 to $200,000 to reflect the increased cost of redevelopment.
Alongside this program is the implementation of three Business Development Programs. These three programs are the New Business Program, Growing Business Program and Business Buildout Program. The programs are developed based on input provided by small businesses.
These Business Development Programs will update the Small Business Incentive Program, which assists entrepreneurs in starting businesses in Champaign.
The New Business Program is also aimed at helping individuals start new businesses in Champaign. The program awards $10,000 to entrepreneurs and the applications for the program are cyclical and competitive.
The Growing Business Program, which seeks to help expand already existing businesses, awards $20,000 and also has a cyclical and competitive application process.
The Business Buildout Program will help establish physical storefronts. This program also awards $20,000 in reimbursement for the refurbishment and built-out of interior commercial spaces.
The program funding will come from the appropriate Tax Increment Financing district when located within that district and from the Small Business Program allocation when located outside of a TIF district.
The Planning and Development Department requested feedback from the council in order to help move the new Economic Development Manual towards administrative approval.
The Champaign City Council meeting concluded with public comment.
