Champaign County, Illinois is located in East Central Illinois at the intersection of two interstates, about 2 hours south of Chicago and 2 hours west of Indianapolis. The city of Champaign had a 2000 census population of 67,500, the adjacent city of Urbana had a population of 36,595, and the county as a whole had a population of 180,000. It is home to the University of Illinois, which is its major employer. Much of the county is still agricultural, although there has been more university-affiliated business development in recent years that may become a source of future growth. Nonagricultural employment in the past decade grew by approximately 1.4 percent a year. The average increase during the past 3 years has been less than 1 percent annually. In the 12 months ending December 2002 employment growth in the HMA stalled because of the slowdown in the local economy. This condition is judged to be temporary, and a continuation of normal area slow growth patterns is expected to resume over the forecast period. Nonagricultural employment is projected to continue to slightly decline during the 2-year forecast period. The annual average change in households in the HMA from 2000 to present was slightly higher than during the period from 1990 to 2000. The rate of growth over the 2-year forecast period is expected to remain moderate, approximately 700 households annually. The change in households is expected to almost mirror the anticipated growth in employment during the forecast period. Residential construction activity has been strong for the past 5 years. Residential construction activity in the next 2 years is likely to be around 850 units annually. The sales market is balanced too tight, and is expected to remain that way through the forecast period. The rental market in the HMA is balanced overall, but there has been some softening during the 12 months ending on the Current date. Despite the apartment market’s loosening, rental-housing production has continued at a relatively even pace. Based on the analysis of current and anticipated economic and demographic
changes, it is estimated that there will be a demand for approximately
1,720 additional housing units over the 2-year forecast period: 965
units of sales housing and 755 units of market-rate rental housing.
This demand forecast is consistent with recent years’ activity,
and reflects the assumption there will be no significant changes in
the local economy during the forecast period. |
