“At a time when it’s easy to take a step back, the Urban League is stepping up.”
Those were the words of Springfield Urban League President and CEO Dr. Marcus Johnson during a Dec. 2 Springfield City Council meeting. Johnson was trying to convince the alderpersons to sell eight city-owned parcels of land on Springfield’s east side for $4,000 to the Urban League for future revitalization.
The City Council tabled the matter that night because the request took many by surprise, including two of the aldermen who represent the area. But the land purchase was approved unanimously by the City Council several weeks later, and now the Urban League is moving forward with an ambitious plan to determine what the community wants to happen with those eight lots plus other Urban League-owned properties in the area. Once those desires are determined, Johnson said work will begin to make things happen.
“We are the architects of our own revitalization, and we have matched our vision with our resources,” Johnson told the City Council. “I don’t think I have to convince anybody here of the potential in Springfield.”
The eight newly acquired properties plus 11 additional vacant lots the Urban League already owns will anchor an urban initiative in the Central East Cultural District within the 50 contiguous blocks around the organization’s headquarters at 100 N. 11th St.
“The eight lots are intended to be a catalyst for affordable home ownership, cultural tourism and community-serving spaces that support the Central East Cultural District and help stabilize this historic Black neighborhood,” Johnson said. “These lots also sit within a broader vision that links the Urban League with Route History, Lincoln Colored Home, the Black firehouse and the new transportation hub, creating a walkable story of Black resilience and innovation in Springfield.”
Johnson expects funding to come from a mix of public and private sources, including grants, philanthropic support and the Urban League’s own reserves. Because the final mix of housing, cultural and community spaces is being driven by ongoing planning and survey data, Johnson said the Urban League will develop cost estimates “once those program decisions are clear, instead of guessing and risking misinformation.”
The City Council’s initial reluctance to act on the land purchase was led by Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory, in whose ward the eight parcels were located, because “I am the elected official for Ward Two, and this is the first that I am hearing about these great plans,” Gregory said when the plan was first brought to the council. “I would like for the community to tell us what they want there first. It seems like there are a lot of steps to go through.”
Johnson verified that community input is a critical step in the process and that surveys of residents and business owners in the area will commence in earnest during the next several months.
“We began by supporting a housing stock survey and community needs assessment with our partners, and we will follow that with a neighborhood survey scheduled to launch in the second quarter of this year,” Johnson said. “Community input is essential because no single person or organization should decide where and how people live. Our decisions must be grounded in what residents tell us today, and in the resources that are actually available to address those needs, so that development reflects what residents say they need, not what others assume they need.”
Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams was skeptical, both during the December City Council meeting and later after the land sale was approved, about the need for additional surveys.
“How many times do you need to survey the east side, and who are you surveying?” Williams said. “There have been three or four plans that Sangamon County Regional Planning did over the years – I think I just saw one that was dated in 1992 and another from 2012. This tells me they are just making up plans and never act on them.”
Johnson acknowledged that conducting another survey may give people pause, but it’s an essential part of the process.
“I completely understand why people feel skeptical when they hear about another survey. In a lot of places surveys were done, reports were written, and then nothing visible changed,” Johnson said. “That is a real experience for many communities, and I do not dismiss it.”
But Johnson said this process is different. The surveys which will soon begin are tied directly to partners like the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and its community revitalization work, which means the results feed into formal plans, funding strategies and tools such as tax credits and grants. “It will not be just a report on a shelf,” he said.
Williams appreciated that the community will have input from the surveys, but the fact that IHDA is involved doesn’t impress him because “IHDA backed the tiny homes that went there, and they knew very well that the people in those areas didn’t support it,” he said, referring to another recent development project to build tiny homes on the east side to house homeless veterans. “Because if we are going to survey, I know they are not going to hear, ‘We want tiny homes.’”
Gregory agreed the community does not want additional tiny homes, and he is confident the Urban League’s plans are “definitely very different from tiny homes. There’s a moratorium on tiny homes right now in the community, so it won’t be that at all,” he said.
Johnson said the Urban League is committed to showing residents what they learn from the surveys and how that feedback will shape decisions about housing, investment and priorities going forward.
“When surveys are used this way, they are not just paperwork. They are one of the most effective ways for residents to set the agenda and help us go after the resources to make that agenda real,” Johnson said. “We will only talk numbers that the community can bank on. As the vision for these lots is finalized with residents, the dollars and timelines we share will be tied to real plans and real funding, not wishful thinking.”
Once the community surveys are completed, analysis, formal reports, approvals and construction will follow in later phases.
“In the meantime, we are already building the kind of ecosystem that responsible developers look for – cultural tourism, preserved historic assets and stronger local businesses,” Johnson said. “New homeowners, active cultural destinations and growing small businesses all contribute to a healthier local economy, and those are precisely the conditions that attract mission-aligned developers over time.”
Although Gregory was unaware of the Urban League’s plans when the matter was first brought before the City Council, he is now an enthusiastic supporter of the organization’s vision for the vacant east side parcels of land.
“We are really working hard to change the narrative, and at times that brings about some uncomfortable conversations between the government and the community,” Gregory said. “But it’s well worth it for the change that this community deserves, and we will accept nothing less.”
Amy Rasing, the director of the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development, is also a supporter.
“The city is all for this kind of development project, no matter where it’s located in the city,” Rasing said. “The city will continue to support the Urban League and their mission.”
The Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance has met with the Urban League to discuss the pros and cons of what could potentially happen on the lots that the organization owns, according to president and CEO Ryan McCrady. He said the Urban League has a track record of thoroughly examining all aspects of a project before proceeding.
“One of the most important things in economic development is understanding the goals and priorities of the community. Any time I talk to community leaders about economic development my first question is, ‘What do your constituents want? How would they define success for the development?’” McCrady said. “The Urban League has a great reputation of being very responsible and responsive to constituents in this way.”
During 2024, the state of Illinois announced the establishment of 10 “cultural districts” in Chicago, Champaign and Springfield, a designation that opens doors to potential funding through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The Springfield Project is the host entity for the local Southtown Cultural District, while the Springfield Urban League is the host entity for Springfield’s Central East Cultural District, in which the Urban League-owned parcels are located. Johnson feels the cultural district’s state designation may lead to additional state-local partnerships and funding.
Other partners that Johnson listed for the Urban League development include Route History, neighborhood associations, local businesses and elected officials. Route History helped to develop the Imagine Route History Experience on East Cook Street and the Lincoln Colored Home at 427 S. 12th Street as major cultural destinations.
“Each partner plays a specific role, from lifting up resident voices to advancing preservation projects and aligning local, state and federal resources so that the neighborhood truly benefits from investment,” Johnson said. “With that being said, if we go against the community as a trusted messenger of 99 years, that goes against who we are. We would never work against the community.”
The Springfield Urban League will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. Since opening its doors in 1926, the organization has worked to advance equity through programs in education, workforce development, health, justice and community empowerment. The Springfield Urban League supports more than 23,000 individuals each year in local neighborhoods through skill-building programs, digital education, economic development efforts, wellness resources and youth-focused services.
Johnson said the Urban League’s vision on Springfield’s east side aligns with the core values and mission that the organization has had for nearly a century.
“Our vision is a walkable, living cultural district that preserves Black history, grows local jobs and tourism, and creates real pathways to ownership so current residents can stay, build wealth and tell their own story,” Johnson said. “We are not simply trying to add buildings, we are working to strengthen our community that has carried this history for generations.”
This article appears in March 5-11, 2026.
