Clark State Community College and the Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) have joined forces to enhance regional workforce and economic development efforts in Champaign County and the surrounding areas.

The CEP is a partnership of private business, local government and the Champaign County Community Improvement Corporation dedicated to advancing economic development and job creation in Champaign County. The CEP connects businesses to available commercial real estate, workforce, training, zoning, transportation, infrastructure and local and state incentives – all key ingredients to successful business development and growth.

“In the spirit of the Champaign Economic Partnership’s motto, ‘working together for success,’ we have been involved with the CEP since its inception,” said Toni Overholser, director of workforce and business solutions for Clark State. “The CEP has connected Clark State with businesses who may benefit from our services and vice versa.”

Overholser said the expanded partnership will provide Clark State with a home base in Champaign County allowing better coordination of the regional workforce and economic development efforts, as well as provide more convenient access to the local businesses and other partners.

Sharing office space
“We are excited to have Clark State sharing office space with our agency. We have worked closely with Clark State for several years to bring the resources needed to train our workforce,” said Marcia Bailey, economic development director for the Champaign Economic Partnership. “This partnership will allow both business and prospective students the ability to meet with Clark State representatives at the CEP office. We look forward to the continued effort of economic development and workforce development.”

The Clark State Workforce and Business Solutions department will provide consulting and workforce services to support Champaign County businesses and economic development partners. Services may include onsite business consulting, professional development in numerous categories, hiring assessments and connecting local businesses with our student pipelines for hiring, coops and internships.

“This expanded partnership will allow us to collaborate directly with the CEP on workforce and talent issues while allowing us to better connect with local business and residents,” said Overholser. “In addition to business services, we will be available to residents and the public for discussion of training options for in-demand jobs in the region.”

Beginning Feb. 8, a representative from Clark State’s Workforce and Business Solutions department will be available the first and fourth Thursday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon. No appointment is needed. The CEP is located at 3 Monument Square in Urbana.

“We are very excited to expand this partnership and help the CEP continue their work of advancing economic development and job creation,” said Overholser. “We look forward to working with the region’s businesses and residents as the community college and workforce partner in Champaign County.”

By Matt Sanctis - Springfield News-Sun Staff Writer

A plan to redevelop a long-vacant hotel in downtown Urbana could also provide new life to two elementary schools that would otherwise be slated for demolition.

The Urbana City School District, the city of Urbana and the owners of the former Douglas Hotel are working on a proposal that could turn the vacant inn, as well as North and South Elementary Schools in Urbana, into affordable senior housing, Mayor Bill Bean said. Those entities are working with the Champaign Economic Partnership and Flaherty and Collins Properties, a developer based in Indianapolis.

The deal initially focused on finding a suitable use for the Douglas, which has been vacant for more than a decade, Bean said. But that site didn’t have enough rooms available to make the project viable so the developer also looked at the two elementary schools.

The school district is building a new high school on the same site as the current high school, as well as a preschool-eighth grade school and between Vintage Drive-Thru and Campground Road on the south side of town. With the new primary school under construction, the district’s three elementary schools were likely to be demolished, district Superintendent Charles Thiel said.

If the new project moves forward, it could redevelop a longtime eyesore downtown, find a new use for two of the school district’s aging buildings and provide more senior housing options for residents, Bean said.

The owners of the Douglas and staff from Flaherty and Collins couldn’t be reached for comment.

Several attempts have been made to redevelop the downtown hotel since it closed more than a decade ago. But renovations would be costly, Bean said, and finding a viable project has been difficult. The hotel was a local landmark and a popular business for years but most recently it’s been an eyesore, he said.

The city would only need to take over the two school buildings since the hotel is currently owned by a private entity.

“As far as I’m concerned, that hotel is a cancer in downtown Urbana,” Bean said.

Converting the hotel into senior housing would draw more foot traffic downtown, create jobs and benefit local businesses and restaurants, he said. Urbana’s Board of Zoning and Appeals recently approved a zoning change, approving two conditional use permits for the city school buildings that would allow them to be used for senior housing, said Marty Hess, a city council and BZA member.

“It’s going to be a boon for downtown Urbana if we can get this done,” Bean said.

Under the proposal, the school district would transfer the two properties to the city, and the CEP would transfer the properties to the developer, said Marcia Bailey, economic development director for the CEP.

The developer is seeking a grant from the Ohio Fair Housing agency in mid-February, Bailey said. The developer also is applying for historic tax credits later in the year to make the plan more affordable, she said, so all sides are working on a tight timeline.

Even if the developer doesn’t receive the credits this year, it would still be interested in applying next year, Bailey said. But the organizations are also discussing an agreement to make sure the city isn’t stuck with two school buildings if the deal falls through, she said.

“If we can get that historic building redeveloped, it just changes the whole landscape of downtown Urbana,” Bailey said.

The school district has funding available as part of its construction project to tear down unused buildings, Thiel said. Most of the money set aside for demolition would be returned to the state if the buildings are saved, he said. If this proposal falls through, there aren’t viable reasons for the district to maintain those properties.

The district has heard some interest from parties interested in East Elementary School, which isn’t included in this proposal, Thiel said. But there are no specific deals moving forward for that property at this point.

“There’s a large faction of the community that would like to keep and maintain those buildings for their history,” he said of North and South elementaries. “If it can be reused and repurposed that would be ideal, and the total project would be a win for the community.”

Complete coverage
The Springfield News-Sun provides unmatched coverage of jobs and the economy in Clark and Champaign counties, including recent stories tracking unemployment rates and digging into expansion plans at Topre.

By the numbers
$35 million: Estimated cost to build a new elementary school in Urbana.
2: Of the three Urbana elementary schools that might be reused for senior housing
3: Total properties involved in senior housing plan — 2 elementary schools and the Douglas Hotel
10-15: Years that the Douglas Hotel has been vacant

Results of a five-county wage and benefit study conducted last summer are now available on the Champaign Economic Partnership’s website. The study was conducted to help local businesses improve their competitiveness in retaining and recruiting qualified employees and to strengthen local economic development.

The study results, released in September to businesses that participated in the survey, can be accessed from the Workforce & Talent tab on the top navigation bar of the CEP website.

CEP Executive Director Marcia Bailey said that the CEP helped organize the five-county study after members of the Champaign County Manufacturers Council said that wage and benefit data would help them and other local businesses retain and attract qualified employees.

Four reports of the study are on the CEP website: a regional results report, a Champaign County results report, a manufacturing report and a regional wages report.

The regional survey includes Champaign, Clark, Logan, Madison and Union County businesses and was completed through a partnership of the CEP and Manufacturers Council, Expand Greater Springfield, Logan County Chamber of Commerce, Madison County Future Inc., Union County/Marysville Economic Development, Ohio Means Jobs of Champaign, Clark, Logan, Madison and Union counties, and Gradwohl Consulting LLC, which conducted the study.

Comparative benefit data was gathered in an online survey completed in June by employers from the five counties. The Dayton Development Coalition provided wage data, which is collected regularly by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc., a consulting firm that supports workforce and economic development efforts.

“This study will enable local employers to see how their benefits and wages compare to similar businesses, so they can make adjustments, if needed, to improve their competitive position in retaining and recruiting qualified workforce,” Bailey said. “That’s especially valuable now, when unemployment is low.”

She added, “This information will also help us in our ongoing efforts to strengthen local economic development and attract new business.”

For more information, contact Bailey at 937-653-7200 or [email protected].