Developments on the west side of Champaign County led to growth for communities like Champaign, Mahomet and Fisher according to 2020 Census results.
Over the last decade, Champaign gained 7,247 residents while the Mahomet population increased by 2,176 and Fisher by 181. On the southwest side of Champaign County, Savoy also realized a population boost from 7,280 in 2010 to 8,857 in 2020 and Tolono gained 157 residents.
Mahomet’s Village Administrator Patrick Brown said the results were actually slightly higher than the Village expected. Mahomet held a special Census in 2017, showing 8,400 residents. In 2019, the Village annexed about 300 residents in Briarcliff, Lakeview, and Summit Ridge Subdivisions.
“We were very confident we would be over 9,000 and expected to end up around 9,200,” he said.
Brown estimates that approximately 500 Village residents of the 1,034 increase from 2019 came from annexations. Mayor Sean Widener said that no additional annexations are planned at this time.
“So some of that growth already existed in the Mahomet community and just moved from the unincorporated/township totals to the Village total,” Brown said. “The township and other unincorporated areas are really not growing much and with the annexations, unincorporated likely lost population.”
Brown also believes that residents in the Solace of Mahomet and Middletown Place Townhomes were not counted in the 2020 census. Both of the new developments are full at this time with young professionals at this time, according to Brown. Additional buildings in the Solace complex are to come.
With that development and a steady influx of homes being built within Village limits, Brown said that a special census will be worth the cost in about five years.
“In 2016 when we started our special census it cost us $100,000 to gain approximately $600,000 in additional revenue, netting us $500,000. So the investment was more than worth it,” he said.
Brown estimates that with the additional growth, the Village could see between $150,000 to $190,000 annually in additional state shared revenue from the State.
The population growth, though, is taking its toll on the Mahomet-Seymour School District, which is currently undergoing a community engagement initiative to address the capacity issues within the district’s four buildings, which are all out of classroom space.
According to the Bulldog Blueprint presentation in the spring of 2020, district enrollment has jumped from 2,818 in 2010 to 3220 in 2020. It is projected that enrollment will be at 3583 by 2030. AreaVibes.com shows that 56-percent of homes in Mahomet have children under the age of 18.
Widener and Brown said that the Village is working with the school district, which is expected to turn to taxpayers for a referendum in 2022.
Population numbers dipped from Urbana to Ogden, north to Gifford and South to Broadlands over the last decade, though. Taken during a time when University of Illinois students were likely not on campus after the 2020 stay-at-home order, Urbana’s population dropped 7.9 percent to 38,336.
St. Joseph lost 157 residents; Ogden lost 81; Broadlands lost 33; Sidney lost 25; Gifford lost 64 and Rantoul lost 570 residents. Rantoul, though, is hoping to turn its 50-year decline around with a new sports complex that is expected to draw thousands of people each year.
Homer’s new Mayor, Jeremy Richards, is also banking on some upcoming commercial development to revitalize his community, which has seen decline due to an aging population.
“We are, however expecting some new growth as young families move in and begin to sink roots in our community,” Richards said.
Homer recently extended a TIF district that will provide incentives to commercial developers looking to revitalize the rural community that was once a hub in Champaign County. Village officials are also updating their website to attract younger families.
“I have a very optimistic outlook on the future of our village,” Richards said.
Homer is not alone in their efforts, though.
St. Joseph recently hired a Village Administrator to carry out the board’s vision of growth while Ogden has been in talks with developers like the Matanky Group about commercial development within Village limits.
Champaign County was only one of 14 counties in Illinois to grow over the last decade.
