Over 10 years after Champaign began redeveloping the Bristol Park neighborhood, a 60-unit affordable senior apartment building at Bristol Place is nearly complete.
Construction is about 70% complete and on schedule to finish by late 2025, according to James Roberts, senior managing director of AHDVS LLC, the developer based in Orland Park in the greater Chicago area.
The project is intended for residents 62 and older. Roberts said that the units were designed with “aging in place” in mind for seniors who want to live independently.
The final project will offer 45 one-bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom units. There will also be a community center with a media room and fitness room, Roberts said.
The senior housing project totals about $21 million, including $14 million in construction costs, City of Champaign Neighborhood Programs Manager Jennifer Carlson said in an interview.
Low-income housing tax credits accounted for about 65% and other funding came from a Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago grant, a HOME loan through an Urbana-Champaign city agreement and private construction loans, Roberts said.
The developer began hosting leasing workshops to introduce the property to the community in September. At the first workshop, the amenities and other attributes of the property were described to about 50 attendees, Roberts said.
Additional workshops are planned as the project nears completion. He said the management team is preparing a waitlist ahead of formal leasing, and interested applicants will be called in. Roberts said applications will open in December, assuming construction remains on schedule.
Formal leasing will start once construction wraps up and will run for four to six months. “Lease-up” is expected from January through June 2026, with move-ins during that time.
All 60 senior apartments will be supported by Housing Choice Vouchers administered by the Housing Authority of Champaign County, Carlson said.
Eligibility for renting the units will be income-based under a three-party agreement between the city, the developer and the housing authority.
Tenants should expect to pay about 30% of their adjusted monthly income, which Carlson estimated as “around $290” based on average Social Security checks. Exact amounts will vary by household.
Construction began in 2024
Work on the senior complex began near the end of the second quarter of 2024, Roberts said. Infrastructure and framing are complete now, with interior drywall and flooring construction underway.
The units will incorporate open floor plans, fully accessible features, walk-in showers, high toilet seats with grab bars and more.
The senior residences are close to Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District services on Market Street. Carlson mentioned that a covered entry is planned to aid door-to-door transit pickups during poor weather conditions.
Carlson said the senior phase of the redevelopment was a part of the original intention to serve different types of households in Bristol Place, a north Champaign neighborhood once considered “an area of housing of last resort.”
Phase One of the Bristol Place redevelopment started move-ins in 2020 and included 64 single-family homes and 26 duplex units. Carlson said 84 of those units are designated to be affordable housing.
Families who were relocated during Phase One construction were given moving stipends from the city. Households whose new rents were higher could receive replacement housing payments for up to 42 months.
Unexpectedly, only one household from the original relocation cohort returned during first phase leasing. Many residents had settled elsewhere by the time units opened several years later.
“When people moved into other housing, they were happy with where they were at,” Carlson said. “When we contacted all the families to say, ‘hey, it’s time to go back,’ people were like, ‘we’re good, we like where we’re at now.’”
While the first phase offered a “right to return” to the residents who were originally displaced back in 2015, Carlson said Phase Two does not have a formal right to return promise, and any eligible senior has the opportunity to apply. She emphasized that “there will be no shortage of demand for the housing.”
City looks forward to further redevelopment in area
Carlson said the city is excited about the possibility of welcoming people from rural areas outside of Champaign to the Bristol Place senior residences.
“Champaign is a great community to have access to social services and medical care, and some of the things that maybe aren’t available in smaller communities,” she said.
A third phase of the redevelopment is expected to take place on the open land east of the senior site and offer more affordable housing, but its timing will depend on completing the current phase of the project and securing another round of tax credits, Carlson said.
One lesson the city has learned from the lengthy planning and redevelopment process that started around 2007 is to invest in rehabbing housing before it gets into poor condition.
“We consider that now with nearby neighborhoods that maybe we should prioritize trying to make sure we don’t come into that situation again.”
Carlson said that the city is also looking to find partnerships for offering more affordable housing because it is in high demand.
She said Champaign is conducting a housing study with an Omaha-based company called RDG to analyze the city’s affordable housing needs moving forward.
“I’m really excited about learning the results from that study, because we need more development like Bristol,” Carlson said.
For now, the developer is preparing the next steps toward occupancy. Residents interested in the senior apartments can monitor city and library announcements for workshop dates and watch for waitlist instructions from the property manager.