Senior housing plan faces one last hurdle

By Riley Newton and Jenna Lawson
Staff Writers of Springfield News-Sun
Photo by Bill Lackey / STAFF

Community partners involved in the project to redevelop the Douglas Hotel in Urbana say they are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

After about five years of work behind-the-scenes, Champaign County economic officials said that the developers have applied for a pivotal grant that would push the funding for the project across the finish line.


“(The developer) has indicated to us if they’re able to secure that grant, then they can move forward toward a closing to this project,” said Doug Crabill, Urbana’s community development manager.

Crabill, as well as Marcia Bailey, director of Champaign County Economic Development, have been working with Flaherty & Collins Properties, a developer based in Indianapolis that has expressed interest in the project, to secure the funding for “Legacy Place.”

The project would convert the Douglas Hotel, as well as the former North and South Elementary Schools in Urbana, into affordable senior apartments.

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