Green Street to get another high-rise
CHAMPAIGN – A new 11-story high-rise apartment building is likely going up on East Green Street.
Campus Property Management is planning to build a 112-unit apartment building at 201 E. Green St., with ground-floor commercial space and, below the ground floor, a fitness center, according to project architect Josh Daly of Henneman Engineering of Champaign.
Bids have been solicited for the project – estimated to cost between $18 million and $20 million – and are due Wednesday, he said.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Daly said. “We’ve got eight general contractors bidding. Everybody’s pretty hungry right now.”
The project will take about 18 months to construct and should be open in July 2010.
Erwin Goldfarb, one of the owners of Campus Property Management, has “seen all the other stuff going up and he’s trying to compete,” Daly said.
A rendering of the 11-story apartment building planned at 201 E. Green St., C. The site also will have commercial space and a workout facility. By Henneman Engineering
A Campus Property Management official declined comment.
The apartment building will be on the south side of Green Street where a former bank building is located, immediately across the street from another high-rise apartment building owned by Bankier Apartments.
Mayor Jerry Schweighart said the project shows that while new single-family home construction is down in Champaign-Urbana, commercial projects continue to be strong despite the slumping economy.
“It’s going to be another part of filling out Green Street,” he said.
City Planning Director Bruce Knight said the apartment project “definitely will add density to Green Street.”
“In general, we think density is good for that area,” he said. “The increased population strengthens the commercial district (in Campustown) because it builds in customers.”
The building will include 56 four-bedroom apartments, 28 two-bedroom units and 28 three-bedroom units. The ground floor will include 2,500 square feet of commercial space. Parking for 200 vehicles will be included on the ground through third floors, with apartments on the fourth through 10th floors. The 11th floor will be a roof deck with a swimming pool and an outdoor recreation area with a running track.
The building also will include a covered atrium running from the fourth to the 10th floor, Daly said.
The fitness center will be another Refinery, a fitness center owned by Goldfarb, Daly said.
Campus Property Management has not yet applied for a city building permit, but it has been in touch with city building safety officials, according to Garry Bowman, building safety supervisor.