The Midtown District is the informal name for the area between Downtown Champaign and Campustown. It contains areas of First Street between Springfield Avenue and Washington Street, and University Avenue between the viaduct and Third Street. With no precisely defined borders, the district consists of the surrounding blocks that contain the Boneyard Second Street Basin, the Boneyard Greenway, and the Burnham District (Third & Springfield). The City of Champaign and the new Champaign Center Partnership have recently identified the Midtown District as a critical area to unify the urban core of Champaign. [1]

This district has recently emerged as a new target area for redevelopment and gentrification.  Although it had been economically vibrant in the past and once considered to be in a location too far from campus to attract students and university-oriented retailers, the gradual revitalization of Downtown has now made Midtown attractive to older students, young professionals, unique restaurants, and local retailers. [1]

Other Resources

Midtown on ChampaignCenter.com

Reference

[1] Wavering, M. (2011). Midtown Champaign: Urban gentrification or a lost cause? Retrieved from http://www.halfwayinteresting.com/Pages/CityofChampaign/tabid/90/entryid/544/Midtown-Champaign-Urban-Gentrification-or-a-Lost-Cause.aspx

This CU wiki entry began as a UIUC research project.  For more on that see Study of UC2B Anchor Institutions' Technology Use