REVITALIZATION
Walnut Center & Residences
Central Business District Redevelopment - Champaign, IL
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
SUMMER 2007
Program:
The University of Illinois School of Architecture Arch 475 Summer Studio focused on the redevelopment of the derelict northern end of Champaign’s Central Business District (CBD). The site is a former rail yard, and currently composed of a mix of commercial businesses, warehouses, historic structures, and parking lots, which is located to the north east of the CBD.
The city of Champaign has debated, over recent years, actions to be taken at this site and the studio professors felt that it was necessary to assist the city in realizing the opportunities possible within this area through reinvigoration with a rigorous development program. It was the goal of this studio to develop a variety of projects, concepts and alternatives to this site to inform future initiatives by the city and the CBD development plans.
This studio program was developed to mirror the AIA 150 "Blueprint for America" to encourage and showcase the achievements possible within the Champaign Central Business District. The studio's final projects were presented to the city of Champaign as a way to spur development interest in this neglected area just on the outside core of the main business area. The aim of these projects were to invigorate growth through master-planned schemes that would spur investment through showcasing the potential of the site, which included mixed use developments, live-work and various other business models. The studio was divided into groups and was composed of a master planning component and then individual building design projects.
Site:
The site for the CBD project is situated on the north end of Champaign's core business area. As discussed previously, it is composed of light industrial, warehouses, and dilapidated edifices of varying historical significance. The overall site is bordered to the east by an important rail artery connecting Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico, which presents a challenge to the project by addressing noise and visual issue of the rail line. The site for my individual project is located on the extreme north end of the master plan, fronted by the intersection of two major thoroughfares, Walnut and Washington Streets. This is a prime location for retail space, residences, and acts as the main entrance into the site.
Concept:
The master-planning phase of the studio resulted in a variety of schemes. The master plan that was conceived from my group called for the establishment of a "Creative District" within our site. Through our research of the local area's demographics and industry, as well as considering that the area possesses a large research university, it was determined that the CBD would greatly benefit by creating an area to support young professionals that compose the creative class. Catering to the young creative class requires several programmatic elements such as live-work spaces, retail and commercial spaces, as well as condos and cultural spaces. The master plan also retained several of the historic and more significant buildings located on the site. These concepts and programmatic features were all formalized into the group's master plan documentation. From this point, individual members of the group then selected specific parts of the master plan to develop more fully.
The solution that I conceived and developed is a mixed-use development, the Walnut Center & Residences. This development was inspired by several precedent projects and was conceived to support residents of the Creative District and surrounding CBD residents. I focused on creating live and work spaces for professionals, as well as residences for families and establishing collaborative spaces for them to come together. I also wanted to create prime retail spaces for a multitude of business enterprises that include offices and galleries that will be needed by this district along the Walnut and Washington Street corridors, which would also in turn support professionals of the district.
The solution that was developed resulted in a building that stretches along two main street fronts and is composed of 28,136 square feet of gross retail space, 12-two bedroom apartment units along with 8-three bedroom apartment units. The retail units are fronted on prime street fronts and contain support spaces. The apartment units all contain balconies and the three bedroom units open onto the shared green roof spaces.
TOTAL RENTABLE SPACE CREATED:
The University of Illinois School of Architecture Arch 475 Summer Studio focused on the redevelopment of the derelict northern end of Champaign’s Central Business District (CBD). The site is a former rail yard, and currently composed of a mix of commercial businesses, warehouses, historic structures, and parking lots, which is located to the north east of the CBD.
The city of Champaign has debated, over recent years, actions to be taken at this site and the studio professors felt that it was necessary to assist the city in realizing the opportunities possible within this area through reinvigoration with a rigorous development program. It was the goal of this studio to develop a variety of projects, concepts and alternatives to this site to inform future initiatives by the city and the CBD development plans.
This studio program was developed to mirror the AIA 150 "Blueprint for America" to encourage and showcase the achievements possible within the Champaign Central Business District. The studio's final projects were presented to the city of Champaign as a way to spur development interest in this neglected area just on the outside core of the main business area. The aim of these projects were to invigorate growth through master-planned schemes that would spur investment through showcasing the potential of the site, which included mixed use developments, live-work and various other business models. The studio was divided into groups and was composed of a master planning component and then individual building design projects.
Site:
The site for the CBD project is situated on the north end of Champaign's core business area. As discussed previously, it is composed of light industrial, warehouses, and dilapidated edifices of varying historical significance. The overall site is bordered to the east by an important rail artery connecting Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico, which presents a challenge to the project by addressing noise and visual issue of the rail line. The site for my individual project is located on the extreme north end of the master plan, fronted by the intersection of two major thoroughfares, Walnut and Washington Streets. This is a prime location for retail space, residences, and acts as the main entrance into the site.
Concept:
The master-planning phase of the studio resulted in a variety of schemes. The master plan that was conceived from my group called for the establishment of a "Creative District" within our site. Through our research of the local area's demographics and industry, as well as considering that the area possesses a large research university, it was determined that the CBD would greatly benefit by creating an area to support young professionals that compose the creative class. Catering to the young creative class requires several programmatic elements such as live-work spaces, retail and commercial spaces, as well as condos and cultural spaces. The master plan also retained several of the historic and more significant buildings located on the site. These concepts and programmatic features were all formalized into the group's master plan documentation. From this point, individual members of the group then selected specific parts of the master plan to develop more fully.
The solution that I conceived and developed is a mixed-use development, the Walnut Center & Residences. This development was inspired by several precedent projects and was conceived to support residents of the Creative District and surrounding CBD residents. I focused on creating live and work spaces for professionals, as well as residences for families and establishing collaborative spaces for them to come together. I also wanted to create prime retail spaces for a multitude of business enterprises that include offices and galleries that will be needed by this district along the Walnut and Washington Street corridors, which would also in turn support professionals of the district.
The solution that was developed resulted in a building that stretches along two main street fronts and is composed of 28,136 square feet of gross retail space, 12-two bedroom apartment units along with 8-three bedroom apartment units. The retail units are fronted on prime street fronts and contain support spaces. The apartment units all contain balconies and the three bedroom units open onto the shared green roof spaces.
TOTAL RENTABLE SPACE CREATED:
- RETAIL: 28,136 SQUARE FEET
- TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT: 12 UNITS
- THREE BEDROOM APARTMENT: 8 UNITS
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