CHAMPAIGN — An expansion of the Illinois Terminal. A potential Division I hockey team. Another downtown hotel. Conferences. Residential properties. Induced development.
All were talking points at the first of three study sessions Tuesday night regarding a proposed hockey arena, hotel and residential building called The Yards in the southern area of downtown Champaign.
The Champaign City Council; Core Spaces, a Chicago-based company partnered with developer Hans Grotelueschen; the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District; and the University of Illinois were the major participants in the discussion, and the partners hope to have a development agreement by January.
Questions remain about who is going to pay for what is now an estimated $200 million project, and what exactly the contributions will be from each partner.