Slideshow: Bristol Place Speaks

You are currently viewing Slideshow: Bristol Place SpeaksDelphine Dargegen

While Champaign city officials have been working on redevelopment plans for the Bristol Park area for at least two years, some community members are concerned over how the city plans to relocate the dozens of residents in the area.

Bristol Park is located “northeast of Bradley Avenue and Neil Street in the City of Champaign, Illinois. There are three areas in the Bristol Park neighborhood: Bristol Place, Garwood Addition, and Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park,” according to city’s plan.

Officials from Housing Authority of Champaign County and the city are grappling with a way to provide housing assistance to low-income residents with homes inside the redevelopment area.

Housing Authority officials are now discussing amendments to the way it distributes rent assistance among a waiting list of 400 people. Officials are considering a preference-point list that would push some needy families above others based on certain criteria.

Housing advocates criticize the proposed move to add preference points to rental assistance and maintain that housing help should be awarded to those on a waiting list first before given to assist city officials with a redevelopment project.

University of Illinois journalism students in a multi-media class lead by Charles “Stretch” Ledford, an assistant professor in the College of Media, visited with some residents in Bristol Place.

Below are their stories.

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