Downtown study looks to future opportunites

Dec. 19—DANVILLE — Creating a downtown historic district and a rental rehabilitation incentive program are just two of the recommendations from a downtown revitalization plan.

The Danville City Council earlier this month heard a draft Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity RISE (Research in Illinois to Spur Economic Recovery) Grant: Downtown Revitalization Plan presentation by Studio GWA.

The city received a $75,000 RISE program grant for an economic recovery and connectivity planning project in the downtown area.

Aldermen in May approved a $75,000 contract with Studio GWA for a professional services agreement for the creation of a downtown revitalization plan.

Danville Community Development Administrator Logan Cronk has said, "This is to come up with a plan for a cohesive downtown revitalization for the rehab of buildings and infrastructure connectivity to the rest of the city. It appears this is going to be a staged grant opportunity to where we can use this plan to apply for funding on the items written into the plan."

Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. has said this grant is for a planning assessment of downtown. It can only be used for downtown and is for economic redevelopment due to COVID-19 impacts.

He said he believes the heart of the city needs to be taken care of.

After these plans are created across the state, DCEO will offer grantees a competitive grant opportunity to apply for funding for specific projects included in their plans. The program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

From plans to reactivate commercial corridors, build more affordable housing, or make investments that improve quality of life, the grant recipients are taking a comprehensive approach to economic development, state officials said.

The final plan is due to DCEO by the end of December, Cronk said.

Studio GWA's Ashley Sarver said with the study, they focused on understanding the economy, assessing the redevelopment potential downtown within the buildings and streetscape (which was the bulk of their study work), placemaking activities and improving the connectivity through transportation.

There's approximately 60 acres in the study area with the boundaries of Seminary and Madison streets to the north, Main Street to the south, Washington Avenue to the east and Franklin Street to the west.

The area includes 141 buildings (106 are commercial, 15 are non-profit/civic, 8 are single-family, 7 are industrial and 5 are multi-family) and 1,968,089 square feet in those buildings. Six of those buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There also 263 floors of space (not including basements).

They looked at previous plans that had been done on the downtown, including one from 2017, city comprehensive plan update, regional bike plan, parking garage study, and riverfront plans, and also knowing there is a downtown parking plan coming soon.

Studio GWA interviewed 15 key stakeholders including from the business community, city staff and non-profit organizations, and conducted surveys.

"The overwhelming impression that we've gotten through these different outreach methods was that there's a lot of local demand for restaurants," said Dana Sarver, with Studio GWA.

They said two big markets of consumers are those in their Autumn Years (retired or nearly retired blue-collar workers making about $50,000 to $75,000 a year, who are loyal and value the patriotic elements of being rooted in the community) and Families in Motion (young couples with two or more children at home and they enjoy the outdoors and taking budget-friendly vacations).

Studio GWA also looked at the impact of COVID-19 on the downtown, and monthly visits to the area.

In the spring, summer of 2021, downtown activity picked up to pre-covid levels. The lowest level (from 2019 to 2023) was about 20,000 visits in April 2020. The highest was more than 90,000 visits in March 2023, with First Friday and other events.

For redevelopment, 9 catalytic sites have been identified as most suitable for redevelopment. They are: the Adams Building, former Sears building, the Dale Building, Crist Auction House, former Commercial-News building on North Street, Danville Paper and Supply, 101-105 E. Main St., former Peyton-Palmer Co. building and 37 N. Vermilion St.

The Adams Building, for example, can offer first-floor retail, office space and upper story residential use.

State and federal tax increment financing, historic tax credits and low-income housing tax credits can be utilized for funding.

Studio GWA redevelopment recommendations: develop strategic marketing plan; build a developer network; host a developer familiarization tour; prioritize and market vacant, under-utilized first floor spaces; leverage Main Street resources; develop architectural renderings; develop inventory for downtown property and event coordination; create a downtown historic district; build a revolving loan fund; create a downtown rental rehabilitation incentive program; and strengthen the vacant building registry program.

A historic district could have two districts, commercial and industrial. There would be 65 potentially contributing properties. They would be eligible for state and federal historic tax credits, a key financial tool, according to Studio GWA. This would require a nomination process.

Placemaking recommendations: conduct historic walking and biking tours; increase opportunities for families and children to enjoy low-cost downtown activities; expand landscaping treatment along side streets; activate and light alleys for additional visual interest, safety and activity zones; expand and install gateway signage directing motorists to the downtown walkable center and its activities; and increase mural and public art installations within the downtown area.

The final study also will analyze the street network and its safety, connectivity and most areas being within a four-minute walk from parking facilities, accessibility and multimodality.

Recommendations will be paired with potential partners and funding sources and timelines, in the final plan. The work plan could be used during the next 10 years.