113 E University Ave, Champaign, IL 61820

Lee & Associates of Illinois is pleased to present a once in a generation opportunity to acquire the Fee Simple interest in up to 2.25 acres on the corner of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s campus district. The subject property consists of multiple adjoining lots across an entire square block in between UIUC’s campus and downtown Champaign. The property is at the corner of University Avenue and First Street, and adjacent to Boneyard Creek, with walking trails leading up to the edge of the property.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the flagship institution of the University of Illinois system and was established in 1867. With over 56,000 students, UIUC is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States. UIUC is a Division 1 school in the Big Ten Conference. They boast almost a 25% international student population, many of whom go on to enroll in advanced degrees.

The property benefits from its proximity to campus and downtown, being somewhere in the middle between the two, while still remaining a walkable distance from both. This allows developers to target the underserved demographic of graduate students and young professionals looking to avoid a long commute to campus, and close enough to the downtown and entertainment district to have a life beyond campus. Boneyard Creek adds to the amenity appeal of this site, giving residents beautiful South and East facing views, with campus on the horizon. Its walking trails add the allure of the property, providing highly sought after green space in an ever urbanizing market and reducing the walk to campus to under 10 minutes.

The property also benefits from its size. With up to 2.25 acres of development potential, a developer could easily capture economies of scale on this property, opting for a higher bed/ unit mix with increased amenities that graduate students and post-grads pay up for, while being in a quieter part of the campus district away from the high-rises that attract younger students.

Being in the Midtown submarket, which boasts the strongest studio apartment market, developers could also opt to target the underserved high-end studio apartment market which would capture Champaigns growing young professional tech and start-up entrepreneur market. Champaign has seen a steady increase of technology start-ups in the past decade, giving it the nickname of the “silicon prairie”.