Country Fair Shopping Center
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| Location | Champaign, Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°6′51″N 88°16′45″W / 40.11417°N 88.27917°WCoordinates: 40°6′51″N 88°16′45″W / 40.11417°N 88.27917°W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Address | Springfield Avenue and Mattis Avenue |
| Opening date | September 28, 1959 |
| Developer | Stanley Kaufman; Cain and Calhane Inc. |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 (original) |
| Total retail floor area | 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m2) ≈ |
| Parking | 2,000+ spaces |
| Public transit access | Champaign–Urbana Mass Transit District |
Country Fair Shopping Center is an open-air shopping center in Champaign, Illinois, United States. Developed in the late 1950s at the intersection of Springfield Avenue (Illinois Route 10) and Mattis Avenue, it opened in September 1959 as a suburban, automobile-oriented retail complex serving west Champaign.[1] Later marketing materials have described it as one of the first open-air shopping malls in east-central Illinois.[2] The center played a prominent role in shifting regional shopping patterns away from the traditional downtown business districts of Champaign and Urbana.[1][3] Since the early twenty-first century it has experienced high vacancy rates and has been the subject of multiple redevelopment proposals.[4][5]
History
Development and opening
In September 1955 local department store owner Stanley Kaufman announced plans for a new suburban shopping center on farmland owned by his mother Hattie Kaufman at the far west edge of Champaign, at Springfield Avenue and a recently widened Mattis Avenue.[1] Kaufman partnered with the Chicago-based firm Cain and Calhane Inc. to build the project, which was estimated to cost about US$3 million.[1]
Construction took place between 1958 and 1960, and the first phase of Country Fair Shopping Center opened to the public on September 28, 1959.[1] Contemporary accounts described the center as a modern open-air complex with more than 2,000 parking spaces and air-conditioned retail space.[1] Original anchors included a second Kaufman's department store along with Goldblatt's, Eisner's supermarket, Grayson's, and a Kresge variety store.[1] Aerial and ground-level photographs from the period show a long, low structure with canopied walkways facing expansive surface parking lots.[6]
Impact on regional retail
Local historians have characterized the opening of Country Fair as a turning point in Champaign–Urbana retailing, drawing shoppers toward the new car-oriented center and away from the traditional downtowns.[1][3] The success of Country Fair contributed to concerns among downtown merchants and civic leaders, and it helped spur competing projects such as the enclosed Lincoln Square Mall in nearby Urbana, which opened in 1964, and later plans for Market Place Shopping Center on Champaign's north side.[1][3]
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the center housed a mix of national chains and local tenants, including grocery, apparel, variety, and specialty stores.[1] City directories and newspaper indexes from this period list additional associated developments in the surrounding area, such as Country Fair professional offices, apartments, and entertainment venues.[7]
Competition and decline
By the mid-1970s Country Fair faced new competition from the enclosed Market Place Shopping Center, which opened in 1975 on Champaign's north side, as well as from later big-box retail development along North Prospect Avenue and other suburban corridors.[1] Over time, several original anchor tenants closed or relocated, and portions of the center became underutilized.
In 2009 the Champaign City Council received a market analysis of the Country Fair area prepared by the consulting firm Business Districts, Inc. The study concluded that the district contained more retail space than its trade area could support and noted a significant number of vacancies within the shopping center.[4] City staff and council members cited concerns about deteriorating physical conditions, an overabundance of parking, and a layout that was difficult for customers to navigate.[4]
A 2010s investment listing by Coldwell Banker Commercial Devonshire Realty described Country Fair as comprising more than 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) of building area on roughly 36 acres (15 ha) and noted that it had not been offered for sale in over three decades.[2] Photographs in commercial real estate listings from the 2010s and 2020s show large areas of mostly empty parking lots and several vacant storefronts.[2]
Recent redevelopment efforts
As of the mid-2020s, much of the center's retail space was vacant, and the property was included in a proposed Springfield and Mattis tax increment financing (TIF) district intended to support infrastructure improvements and redevelopment in the area, with city officials citing investor interest in reimagining the site.[2][5] According to the article, city materials stated that the TIF district was intended to reverse blighting conditions in the surrounding shopping corridors and support projects that would improve walkability, design quality, circulation, and transit access.[5]
The same editorial reported that a group of investors had expressed interest in working with the city and local developers to revitalize Country Fair, with community hopes that any future redevelopment might introduce new green space, restaurants, and arts or creative uses alongside commercial space.[5]
Architecture and layout
Country Fair was conceived as a low-rise open-air strip center oriented around surface parking and automobile access. Historic photographs and contemporary descriptions depict a long main building with projecting canopies, simple modernist detailing, and rows of storefronts facing the parking areas.[6] The surrounding district includes additional separate buildings, outlots, and adjacent developments that have been marketed collectively with the shopping center in some real estate listings.[2]
See also
- Market Place Shopping Center
- Lincoln Square Mall
- Champaign, Illinois
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Blakeman, T. J. (January 10, 2020). "Market Place Mall". Champaign History. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Country Fair Shopping Center". LoopNet. Coldwell Banker Commercial Devonshire Realty. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The Downtown Champaign Mall". The Urbana Free Library. June 25, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Herbick, Emily (January 28, 2009). "Council discusses Country Fair shopping center". The Daily Illini. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "An update on sad empty spaces". Smile Politely. September 25, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Country Fair Shopping Center". Digital Collections. University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ "News-Gazette Archives Collection: Subject Headings" (PDF). The News-Gazette. Champaign County Historical Archives. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
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