The Champaign City Council voted 9-0 Tuesday to enter an agreement with Foth Infrastructure & Environment, LLC to complete area studies of the Bristol Park neighborhood. 

The studies are required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development before the city can apply for the federal funds to begin implementing the Bristol Park Neighborhood Plan, according to a city memorandum.

Once the city receives funding from HUD, it can begin Phase 1 of the neighborhood plan, which involves demolishing and re-building homes and developing the area, which has approximately 82 properties and is bordered by Market Street, Bradley Avenue, Chestnut Street and the Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park.

According to the Bristol Park Neighborhood Plan, published in February 2011, the value of the homes in the Bristol Park neighborhood are “considerably less than other parts of the city.” Seventy percent of the homes are valued at less than $60,000, compared to the $138,400 average for a home in Champaign, based on the 2006 census.

“I’ve been inside those houses,” said Karen Foster, council member at-large. “One in particular was absolutely horrible, one was livable. So to have this neighborhood acquired, buying the houses and demolishing them and then rebuilding them … This is moving our city forward and taking care of some blight in our city and making it better for those people who live there.”

Kerri Spear, neighborhood programs manager for the city of Champaign, said that if the council bill had not passed, it would significantly delay the project.

“We’re looking forward to getting this underway because it is a key step, one of many steps that have to happen, and we’ve been working on this project for several years,” Spear said. “(It’s) probably one of the more significant and exciting steps, I would say, and we’re looking forward to having it done.”

The agreement with Foth will cost the city up to $93,640. The company will complete environmental, noise and vapor studies to “verify the suitability of the site as a housing development,” said Patrick Sloan, Foth project manager for the Champaign project, in an email.

Foth employees will collect soil samples and complete a comprehensive records review by analyzing data including historical documents, aerial photographs and fire insurance maps of the area, Sloan said.

Additionally, the engineering firm will assess the floodplains, wetlands and endangered species in the area. It will also measure the decibels of noise from the nearby Canadian National Railway tracks to make sure it meets HUD’s requirements, said Susan Jones, rehabilitation technician for the city of Champaign. Then, the city can “make accommodations to whatever buildings they have when they complete the project.”

Foster said that completing the environmental studies is the first step the city has taken to begin re-building the neighborhood, and that the neighborhood plan is moving more quickly than the city anticipated. The studies are expected to be completed within three months.

“This engineering service agreement is exciting because it’s going to get the ball rolling,” Foster said. “It’s a step forward and closer to reality.”

Emma can be reached at [email protected].