[Peace] IMC Buys the Post Office Building; Community Media & Arts Center Planned

[Danielle Chynoweth]

JOIN US TO CELEBRATE MONDAY AT NOON ON THE POST OFFICE STEPS!

------
The downtown Urbana post office building is being transformed into a 
community media and arts center, with the post office services remaining 
at their current location.  On Cinco de Mayo, the Urbana-Champaign 
Independent Media Center (IMC) closed on the purchase of the post office 
building as its new home.  

The IMC will be holding a press conference on Monday at noon on the steps 
of post office building at 202 S. Broadway in Urbana.  The public is 
invited.

"After three years of work we crossed the finish line - just in time for 
Radio Free Urbana to go on the air," said Mike Lehman who served on the 
negotiating team.  WRFU 104.5 FM is scheduled to go on the air in 
mid-June. 

The new building will also house an all-ages performance venue, artist 
studios and gallery, audio and video production facilities, a resource 
library, and community meeting space.  The IMC will provide public access 
internet stations and free wireless connectivity in and around the 
building.  The IMC is currently seeking tenants for its office and studio 
spaces.  The IMC will move in around June 1st.  The performance space may 
be open as early as this September.

The building boasts 30,000 square feet with a large 6,000 square foot 
space behind the post office lobby.  "We invite the community to bring 
your vision, effort, and support to this new community owned and operated 
space," said Danielle Chynoweth who was the chief negotiator for the 
purchase.  "We will be holding open visioning sessions later this year to 
engage the community in plans for renovations."

The IMC will be listing this 91 year-old building on the Illinois Historic 
register.  "This building is in great shape.  We care about historic 
preservation and want the community to be able to enjoy this building for 
decades to come" said Chynoweth.

The IMC has raised $75,000 so far in private donations to purchase a
building.  "It's amazing.  The community came forward to support us even
before we found a building" said Sascha Meinrath, who heads the capital
campaign.  "Now that we have a beautiful downtown location, finishing our
initial campaign should be easy." The community media and arts center
received no funds from the city and is 100% privately supported.

The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center is a grassroots, 501(c)(3), 
non-profit organization committed to using media production and 
distribution as tools for promoting social and economic justice. The 
UC-IMC is the fiscal sponsor of the global Indymedia network of over 150 
independent media centers across 6 continents. Independent Media Centers 
empower people to "become the media" by providing democratic access to new 
technologies and information. IMC reporters are everyday citizens, 
covering the stories and events that matter to them.