In a letter dated April 7, 2008, University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman announced that “upon the advice of the Chancellor’s Orchard Downs Advisory Committee, the Orchard Downs Selection Committee and subsequent research on the part of the staff, I have determined that it is not in the best interest of the University and the community to make a developer selection under the current process.” The Chancellor goes on to say that a “Master Land Use Plan to guide and direct the architectural excellence we seek will be developed. Once the plan is approved, each parcel will be developed according to an appropriate schedule. This approach supports the ability to bring in development partners with focused expertise for each component.” READ FULL TEXT OF LETTER:Orchard Downs 04-07-08

The City of Urbana retained a consultant to create a plan for the beautification of the Philo Rd corridor from Florida Ave south to Colorado Avenue. The consultant, Schreiber/Anderson Associates (SAA) has developed final design development plans for the corridor based on input received from a design workshop held in November 2007 and a presentation to the Urbana City Council in January 2008. The plans will be available for review at the OPEN HOUSE on Monday, April 7, 2008, from 4:30 - 6:30 pm in the Urbana City Council Chambers. SAA will present the final design development plans to the city council following the Open House. Plans will be available on the city’s website at www.city.urbana.il.us.

The Community Development Director provided an  Urbana Economic Development Report  to the City Council on March 3, 2008.