Complete Story
08/05/2025
Boneyard Creek: How a flood mitigation project became an economic development showcase for Champaign (CM | 1)
The Boneyard Creek projects within Champaign are designed to protect the city against the 100-yr flood event. An additional benefit of the projects is an increasing economic development along the restored stream corridor. The City of Champaign’s forward-thinking vision to create an amenity out of necessary rainwater management is reaping financial and equitable benefits. The City of Champaign and Farnsworth Group designed an entire corridor of park amenities that function to mitigate flooding within the City. Wet basins to store rainwater are designed as natural-looking ponds with rocky outcrops and waterfalls. The Boneyard Creek meanders between the basins with a large, flat floodplain heavily planted with native vegetation on which to flood. A multi-purpose trail connects people to the natural basins and to other sections of the City. The Boneyard Creek corridor has been transformed to a beautiful park. Due to the transformation, the City has seen a sizable increase in development adjacent to the Boneyard Creek projects. Economic development is thriving in the Boneyard corridor, as residents desire to eat, play, and reside near this valuable destination in Champaign. In addition, the project has provided an opportunity to increase environmental equity in areas of the City where there were deficits in environmental amenities. By changing the perspective of stormwater management to a rainwater amenity, the City of Champaign has created a showpiece corridor along the Boneyard Creek that energizes our economic partners.
Click here to watch the webinar
Cost: $15 member, $20 non-member, $5 student
Professional Development Credit: CM | 1
Speakers
Terry Blakeman
TJ Blakeman has been a planner for the City of Champaign for his entire professional career investing that time in the revitalization of Downtown Champaign and Campustown, at the University of Illinois. He successfully led the development of the City's 2005 Downtown Plan, University District Action Plan, and multiple long-range planning initiatives. He currently oversees the City's Economic Development programs including Tax Increment Finance Districts, Enterprise Zones, Capital Improvement Planning, infrastructure design teams and focuses on revitalization citywide. He has served APA as a member of the inaugural Young Planners Group, 2010 National Awards Jury, National Conference Speaker, and member of the Chapter Presidents Council. He has served the Illinois Chapter in leadership since 2007 including time as Secretary, Vice President and President of the Chapter (2017-2019).
Emily Poynter Jenkins, PhD, PD, CFM
Emily Poynter Jenkins, PhD, PE, CFM, is a Water Resources Project Engineer and Group Leader at Farnsworth Group in Champaign, Illinois. With a background in ecological engineering, she specializes in designing stream restoration, rainwater management amenities, bank stabilizations, and green infrastructure that are multi-functional and cost-effective. Emily earned engineering degrees from UIUC (B.S., PhD) and University of Maryland (M.S.).
