CHAMPAIGN — Downtown Champaign doesn't look quite the same as it did when Doug Altenberger left Illinois basketball in the 1980s.
Now the property developer and Illini radio analyst wants to leave his mark on the decades of downtown Champaign redevelopment that occurred after his campus exit. He's agreed to be the new developer of a millennial-focused boutique hotel at 401 N. Neil St.
On Tuesday, the Champaign City Council gave initial approval to putting Altenberger on the project, which was green-lighted last fall with the intention of it being branded as a Hotel Vib (pronounced "vibe") by Best Western, made to be high-tech and attractive to younger customers looking to stay in urban environments.