URBANA — The city is hoping a new program will bring construction to many Urbana lots that were left empty after the Great Recession.
This week, the city launched Think Urbana, a property tax abatement program, to help attract more residents and fill vacant lots in subdivisions like Stone Creek, South Ridge, Landis Farm, Beringer Commons and Somerset.
"The recession hit a lot of residential developers hard," said Economic Development Manager Brandon Boys. "There's been more activity, and (Think Urbana) is intended to help bolster the new wave of homebuilding that's starting to occur now that the economy has improved.