Dr. Robert L. Head announced that Urbana University has transferred ownership of their downtown building to the Champaign County Board of Commissioners.

In December of 2006, Urbana University was gifted the building from Champaign National Bank. It was originally thought that the University would relocate several of their Administrative Offices to the downtown site, however, it has since decided to keep all operations centralized on campus. The University received permission from the Board of Directors at Champaign National Bank to find a buyer for this property, who would enhance the downtown area through their presence.

The Board of Champaign County Commissioners is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to purchase the former downtown Champaign National Bank building for the sum of $300,000 from Urbana University, for the purpose of configuring additional courthouse space for county offices.

The creation of the new juvenile-probate-domestic relations judgeship presented unique challenges for the County Commissioners. “It got us to thinking that the current courthouse would not fit the long-term space needs of Champaign County’s judicial system” said Bob Corbett.

“If the creation of the new judgeship was going to create requirements for additional space, it was only a natural fit to consider purchasing real estate that was in close proximity to the existing courthouse” said Max Coates.

“The Commissioners welcomed the opportunity to re-invest in the downtown and purchase a building that will benefit our legal community for generations to come,” said Bob Corbett.

“No decisions have been made as to what offices should occupy the former bank building” said Steve Hess. “We expect to retain the services of an architect familiar with courtroom construction so that we can determine the most prudent use for the newly acquired space.”