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‘Legacy Place’ senior housing project moves forward in Urbana, construction to start soon

9/18/2020

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By: Jenna Lawson, WHIO
View video of the announcement on WHIO's website
There were many points in the last five years that community partners thought ‘Legacy Place’ might never happen.

It took time to capture nearly $13 million in funding sources, including historic tax credits – not to mention delays due to the pandemic. But on Thursday, partners announced the funds were released and they are able to move forward with the project. It’s possible construction could start within the next week.

‘Legacy Place’ transforms the Douglas Inn in downtown Urbana and two former elementary schools (North & South) into affordable senior housing. 51 units will be created for those 55 and older, with six of them being devoted to people with disabilities.

“It’s just a real renaissance for Urbana,” Mayor Bill Bean told News Center 7′s Jenna Lawson.

Duane Miller, with development company Flaherty & Collins and also president of F & C Legacy Place, said the project accomplishes two goals: turning three vacant properties into useful properties and filling the need for affordable senior housing in Urbana.

“I love to jump into the skin of a community that’s looking for help and looking for opportunities to spur on their own development,” he said.

The Douglas has been vacant since 2004 and has long been a large eyesore on the southwest corner of Monument Square. The building has somewhat deteriorated and was the target of multiple arson fires in 2019.

The former owner of the property, John Doss, has done work to stabilize the structure. The elementary schools, despite being about 100 years old, are in solid shape, partners said.

The timeline for the project will move quickly. Developers estimate about six months to complete both elementary schools and a little over a year to finish the Douglas. Partners are hopeful that the project will have a positive domino effect on other aspects of Urbana living including neighboring businesses and housing.

“We may see some of those seniors who may move in here and now their single family homes are available for a new families to move in,” said director of the Champaign Economic Partnership, Marcia Bailey.

Bailey added that this solution also preserves the history of all three buildings for the community to enjoy for decades to come. “Having these buildings standing as they are and being repurposed is a huge win for our community,” she said.

Other partners in the project include the City of Urbana, Urbana City Schools and Resident Supports and Services, Inc., which provides housing for seniors and adults with developmental disabilities.
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Legacy Place Project Gets Green Light

9/18/2020

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Work Begins to Transform the Douglas Hotel and Former Elementary Schools into Senior Apartments
Work crews will soon begin transforming the long vacant Douglas Hotel in downtown Urbana and the former Urbana North and South Elementary Schools into 51 affordable apartments for senior citizens.
 
With release this week of about $13 million in previously approved financing, the long-anticipated Legacy Place project got the green light to begin renovation of the historic buildings, says Duane Miller, F&C Legacy Place president. Transfer of the funds to Legacy Place was delayed by pandemic-related office closures.

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Three Years of College with Tuition Paid by the Clark State Foundation

3/5/2020

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Clark State Community College
Ten Urbana 8th graders and 11 Graham 8th graders were among those inducted on Tuesday into the Clark State Scholars Program. As long as commitments in a contract signed by the students and their parents or guardians are followed, these students will earn three years of college at Clark State Community College with tuition paid by the Clark State Foundation.

Graham 8th graders inducted into the program were Isabella Branam, Isaiah Branam, Whytney Faulkner, Ian Grider, Seth Huffman, Sarah Lewis, Elijah Melms, Tucker Nave, Mikal Rice, Landyn Simons and Robert Thomas.

Urbana 8th graders inducted were Madison Allen, Olivia Bean, Logan Dale, Trinity Ferrell, Jaminson Gansaulies, Zavian Groom, Amari Jones, Harley Lahrman, Taylor Ruthergord and Annabelle Sabchez.

The students will be the first in their families to receive college degrees.
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So far, the Clark State Foundation has partnered with the Urbana and Graham school districts in Champaign County and with the Springfield City, Tecumseh Local and Clark-Shawnee Local school districts in Clark County for this program.

Applicants must be eligible for the free/reduced lunch program; achieve at least a 2.0 grade point average in the fourth quarter during seventh grade; and have parents who have not earned a bachelor’s degree at the time of application.

Eighth graders obtain applications from guidance counselor offices in September. After an interview and evaluation process, the top applicants in each participating school are inducted into the program.

To remain in the program, students must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average and at least a 93% school attendance record, participate in at least 75% of program activities, exhibit good citizenship and take courses that prepare students for college.
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Career Prep Workshop Series at UU Leading Up to March 24 Career Fair - CANCELLED

1/31/2020

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THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THERE ARE PLANS TO RESCHEDULE IN THE FALL.

You're invited to the Career Preparation Workshop Series that UU is hosting leading up to the March 24 Career Fair.
 
These workshops are open to all community members including high school students! For more information, please contact careerconnections@urbana.edu.
UU Career Prep Workshop
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Revitalization Efforts in Downtown Urbana Focus on Housing, More Shops

12/9/2019

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By Hasan Karim, Springfield News-Sun Staff Writer
With the last piece of needed funding recently locked down, the ‘Legacy Place’ senior housing project in downtown Urbana is one step closer in bringing more than a dozen apartments in the area.

It is something city officials say will have a trickle down effect in downtown. The hope is with more people living there, it will boost business for shops and restaurants that are within walking distance.
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In the past five years, the number of living opportunities in the area have about doubled.
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UHS Team Wins Design Challenge

11/6/2019

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UHS Design Team
Pictured from left are contest judge George Walker of Advanced Technology Products (ATP); contest judge Andrea Mitchell of Job and Family Services; UHS team members Ron Ragland, Bryant McKenzie, Dale Mason and Bryant Chamberlain; and contest judge Nicole Rush of the St. Paris Public Library.
The 2nd annual Design Challenge competition was held at Urbana University on Nov. 1. Urbana High School was the winning team with members Ron Ragland, Bryant McKenzie, Dale Mason and Bryant Chamberlain.

The student teams were challenged to design a mousetrap race car within a series of criteria and constraints under the guidance of an industry mentor. Teams had competed in their school districts and the winning team from each school district advanced to the county-level competition at UU. During the event, students participated in a trade show with local manufacturers.

Judges for the contest were George Walker of Advanced Technology Products (ATP); Andrea Mitchell of Job and Family Services; and Nicole Rush of the St. Paris Public Library.
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Assisting with the contest were Jason Taylor of Shaffer Manufacturing/ Bundy Baking Solutions, donating the mouse traps; and Dan Yohey of Rittal, creating and making the trophies for the winners.
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Tax Credit Boosts Legacy Place

7/2/2019

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Urbana Douglas Inn
The Douglas Inn on Monument Square is to become a residence for senior citizens. Christopher Selmek | Urbana Daily Citizen
By Christopher Selmek, Urbana Daily Citizen
cselmek@aimmediamidwest.com
The Ohio Development Services Agency awarded $28,033,063 in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits on June 26 for the rehabilitation of 49 historic buildings in 13 communities around the state, including $988,058 for the Legacy Place project planned in Urbana. The project is eligible for additional tax credit allocation, up to the requested $1,315,118, as it becomes available through withdrawn applications or project savings. The developer, Flaherty & Collins Properties, will not be issued the tax credit until project construction is complete and all program requirements are verified.

ODSA has estimated the total project cost as $13,164,335 for 51 units of senior housing that would occupy the former North and South elementary schools as well as the Douglas Inn on Monument Square. All three buildings will hold apartments designed for residents 55 or older making 60 percent of the area median income or less, roughly $24,000 to $25,000 a year, and the former hotel will also have commercial space on the first floor. Local officials have been working with architect McCall Sharp Architecture, of Springfield.
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“It’s exciting that another piece of the puzzle has been approved for funding,” said Champaign Economic Partnership Executive Director Marcia Bailey. “Nothing is finalized yet, and we’re not quite ready to sign for the property, but the city, Urbana City Schools and the CEP have done everything we can on our end and now we’re continuing to work with Flaherty & Collins to get this project to the final stages.”

According to ODSA, Legacy Place is only the second project to be awarded in Urbana. The awards are planned to assist private developers in rehabilitating historic buildings in downtowns and neighborhoods that, once rehabilitated, drive further investment and interest in adjacent property.

“The historic preservation tax credit is another way we’re investing in our communities,” said Gov. Mike DeWine in a news release. “These investments can spur development in a neighborhood or downtown.”

“Partnering with communities and developers across Ohio, we’re preserving historic sites that make Ohio unique,” said Lydia Mihalik, director of ODSA. “We’re creating new opportunities for small businesses and housing.”

The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program is administered in partnership with the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office. The state Historic Preservation Office determines if a property qualifies as a historic building and if the rehabilitation plans comply with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

Legacy Place
Bailey said that in addition to providing a built-in customer base for downtown business owners, the project will be an example for the Moving Downtown Forward committee to inform developers how to move projects ahead in downtown Urbana.

According to information from the ODSA, the Douglas Inn was constructed about 1870 in the Second Empire style with a mansard roof. The structure has been vacant since 2004. When ready to complete the sale of property, Flaherty & Collins will work directly with private owner John Doss to acquire the Douglas Inn.

“Just seeing the Douglas get put back into use again is a very positive thing for the community,” said Community Development Manager Doug Crabill. “Seeing those school buildings be reused rather than being torn down and vacant lots gives us a good feeling, because at least we know there is a plan for re-purposing those buildings.”

“It’s something we’re used to doing and we feel like there’s usually an extra need for senior housing in communities, and in communities like Urbana there’s a need to help older (buildings) continue their life,” said Julie Collier, vice president of Development for Flaherty & Collins Properties. “It’s two-fold for us because we’ll help save some important buildings in … Urbana, and we’ll also fulfill a housing need for local residents.”

The two schools, built in 1901 and 1921, served the city’s children until they became vacant in 2018. Bailey said the Ohio Revised Code allows the school district to dis-invest of the two properties no longer needed by the school district. Rather than demolish the buildings, the plan is for them to be purchased by the city for $1 each under an alreadysigned purchase agreement. Then the CEP will act on behalf of the city to sell the buildings to Flaherty and Collins.

“The city council agreed to do all of this,” said Bailey. “We had the city schools that were willing because they didn’t want to see the buildings (demolished) either, and it’s a cost savings for taxpayers not to have to pay for the demolition. But the city council agreed that they will take on the buildings … That was an important component, because if the city had not agreed to do that we wouldn’t be where we’re at right now.”

On March 19, the Urbana City Council unanimously passed a resolution of support for the developers of Legacy Place to apply to the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program. Flaherty & Collins also obtained tax credits through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
In July 2018, the Urbana City Council unanimously authorized a fee waiver of up to $500 in support of Flaherty & Collins’ application to the affordable housing program of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, including but not limited to water and sewer tap fees, construction permit fees and zoning fees. The resolution affirmed that the city council supports the efforts of Flaherty & Collins to obtain the necessary financing resources to redevelop all three buildings.
​

Christopher Selmek can be reached at 937-508-2304
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Another Step in the Project Puzzle

7/1/2019

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‘Legacy Place’ project in Urbana receives almost $1M in funding from state tax credit

Picture
By Riley Newton, Springfield News Sun Staff Writer
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The plan to redevelop a long-vacant hotel and two elementary schools in Urbana will move forward after developers received almost $1 million in funding from an Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit.

Flaherty and Collins Properties, a developer based in Indianapolis, worked to secure the funding for a project that would convert the Douglas Hotel, as well as North and South Elementary Schools in Urbana, into affordable senior housing.
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The project, called Legacy Place, would create 51 housing units available to residents 55 and older.

“We are super excited, this was a big hurdle and achieving this credit is a really exciting achievement,” said Marica Bailey, Director of the Champaign Economic Partnership. “We are ready to move forward with this process.”

MORE: Plan might find new use for Douglas Hotel, longtime Urbana eyesore

While funding for the project has been secured, Bailey said, the project is still a work in progress.

“There is no start time,” Bailey said. “This project is still in the making, but this is a big step in the making.”

The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit is administered in partnership with the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation office and the Ohio Development Services Agency. The credit is awarded to, “assist private developers in rehabilitating historic buildings in downtown and neighborhoods.”

“Partnering with communities and developers across Ohio, we’re preserving historic sites that make Ohio unique,” Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency, said in a news release. “We’re creating new opportunities for small businesses and housing.”

The Legacy Place project is just one of 22 projects awarded the tax credit. In total, the Ohio Department of Services Agency awarded more than $28 million for the rehabilition of 49 historic buildings, according to the ODSA.

Under the Legacy Place project, the city of Urbana has agreed to take ownership of the two elementary school buildings and transfer them to the Champaign Economic Partnership. The CEP will then transfer the two buildings to Flaherty and Collins.

The next step in the Legacy Place project since receiving the credit, will be to work on transferring and finalizing property agreements, Bailey said.

“We are going to be meeting up and working through the fine details of the project and finalizing some of the purchasing agreements and stuff like that in the coming months,” Bailey said.

The former Douglas Hotel is privately owned by John Doss, who plans to work out a separate agreement with the company.
Doss said previously that he purchased the Douglas with plans to eventually restore it, although it’s been a slow process to track down funding and find a suitable project.

The former hotel has been vacant for more than a decade and city officials have said in the past they believe the building is an eyesore downtown. Turning the site into senior housing will encourage more residents to live downtown and create new opportunities for retailers, Bailey said.

“This is going to have a tremendous impact and the making of this has been an incredible effort,” Bailey said.

Thank you for reading the Springfield News-Sun and for supporting local journalism. Subscribers: log in for access to your daily ePaper and premium newsletters.

$988,058: Total tax credit the Legacy Place project has received as a part of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit
51: Housing units for residents 55 and older the Legacy Place project will create
3: Total properties involved in the senior housing plan- 2 elementary schools and the Douglas Hotel
The Springfield News-Sun is committed to covering economic developments in Clark and Champaign counties.
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Legacy Place Planned for Unused Structures

4/26/2019

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Urbana Douglas Inn
The Douglas Inn | Photos by Christopher Selmek | Urbana Daily Citizen
By Christopher Selmek, Urbana Daily Citizen
cselmek@aimmediamidwest.com
Representatives of Flaherty & Collins Properties have been working with the city of Urbana and the Champaign Economic Partnership to develop Legacy Place, a proposed 51 units of senior housing that would occupy the former North and South elementary schools as well as the Douglas Inn on Monument Square. Local officials have been working with architect McCall Sharp Architecture, Springfield, and hope to close on the property sale this summer after they have secured all of their funding sources.


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Bundy's Sponsors Urbana's Bartee at DECA Conference

4/5/2019

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Bundy Baking Solutions sponsorship
Urbana’s Raegan Bartee accepts a check from Bundy’s Nancee Starkey for a sponsorship to attend the DECA International Career Development Conference.
Bundy Baking Solutions contributed $200 to sponsor Urbana High School’s Raegan Bartee to attend the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando.

Bartee will attend the THRIVE Leadership Academy as part of an award for her community service campaign in November. She was part of a program that organized a week-long canned food drive, with more than 160 items being donated to the Caring Kitchen.

Champaign Economic Partnership helped facilitate the sponsorship.
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CEP Office Location:
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