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City of Lincoln
Lincoln City Council hears new plans for Lincoln College Campus
[September 16, 2026]
Uriah Kilgallin with Lincoln
Economic Advancement and Development spoke to the Lincoln City
Council about the future of the former Lincoln College Campus at the
Tuesday night Committee of the Whole meeting.
He shared that an “anonymous benefactor” would be purchasing the
commercial buildings at the college, while the original purchaser
Chase Huston will retain ownership of all the dormitory buildings on
the campus.
He said that the benefactor was from Lincoln, had a love of the
community and wanted to see it grow, a person of faith who wants to
give back to a community that has given so much to “them.” Kilgallin
said the ultimate goal is to give away or sell at a very low cost
all the buildings being purchased.
With the purchase of the buildings, the benefactor will in turn
lease the buildings to not-for-profits for $1 per year with the goal
of eventually turning over ownership to the NPO. Other buildings
will be leased to for-profit business and industry at a greatly
reduced space cost compared to other commercial buildings.
Kilgallin went on to speak about forming a new TIF district at the
college. He said that this would be a different type of TIF (Tax
Increment Financing) than the first one the city got involved in
because the city would not be putting one penny into the TIF but
would benefit from the development of the property. He said that at
the least, the money earned through the tax increase on the property
would cover costs of maintenance of the “common grounds” on the
property.
Kilgallin said that he had sent out press releases to several
surrounding cities including Bloomington, Champaign, Decatur,
Peoria, Springfield, Urbana and Lincoln. The press release will be
an invitation for business and industry to submit Requests for
Information (RFI) to LEAD for consideration. There will be an
application process and the deadline for round one of that process
will be October 30, 2026, at 5 p.m.
Kilgallin also shared that there
are two six-page documents on the LEAD website pertaining to the
application. One specifically for NPO’s and the other specifically
for business/industry. He said that one of the biggest factors in
the decision process would be bringing new jobs opportunities to
Lincoln. The city could have discretion on who was permitted to come
into the city.
This would be accomplished through the zoning process. Mayor Tracy
Welch explained that the entire campus is zoned as residential. When
new businesses come in, there will need to be a request to the city
for a change in zoning to commercial from residential.
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Kilgallin said
that the LEAD will work with the benefactor in screening
applicants. He added that they would not be subject to FOIA and
could accept or deny any applicant based on their own criteria.
He said this was good, because obviously there could be some
businesses apply that was not a suitable fit for the city or the
neighborhood. He cited as an example, if someone wanted to put
in an oil refinery that would be a hard no. On the other hand he
said that there is an increasing need for “wet labs” that are
not dangerous in anyway, and there are several other types of
businesses that wish to be located in the vicinity of the wet
labs that would also be good fits.
Kilgallin said those
who would be considered would also understand that there would be
metered results to show economic growth in the community, such as an
increase in job opportunities.
In the information about the leases and RFI’s there is a point
system that will be applied to each application with “New-to-Lincoln
Job Creation & Retention” making up 55 of the total 100 points. Four
more categories make up the balance with 15 points each awarded for
“Financial Sustainability & Lease Capacity,” “New-Hew Economic
Growth Fit,” and “Commitment Length, Space utilization & Capital
investment.”
Kilgallin was asked where the benefactor stood on the Lincoln
Heritage Museum. He said that there had been discussion about the
future of the museum with the current curator/administrator Ron
Keller. Keller said that there needed to be further research and
discussion before he would make a solid comment. Kilgallin said that
the benefactor is willing to allow the museum to stay in place until
such a time as another solution comes.
Kilgallin outlined the benefits of what he said is called a Pay/go
TIF. There is no money invested by the city, but the city can earn
from the improvement of property and increases to the specified
property tax.
Alderman Stan Anderson asked if there were any other communities
that have taken on the same type of project. Kilgallin said perhaps
Rockford would come close, but still is not the same. He went on to
say that this is a very unique scenario being brought to the city of
Lincoln.
To see the website documents visit the
LEAD website and click on
the
Breath of Life Program in the top task bar.
Read the press release from Uriah
Killgallin.
[Nila Smith]
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