Forest Preserve board to break ground Tuesday on Homer Lake Nature Center renovation
The district's commissioners will hold a special meeting at the site; a $600,000 state grant is paying for outdoor improvements.
HOMER - The Champaign County Forest Preserve District's Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, to break ground on the Nature Center at Homer Lake Forest Preserve, 2573 Homer Lake Road, according to the meeting agenda posted Wednesday.
The agenda lists the groundbreaking and a public comment period. People who want to address the board are asked to sign in at the welcome table beforehand.
The district's project page says the Homer Lake Interpretive Center is closed while the district renovates it and plans an addition, with a temporary site at Middle Fork River Forest Preserve in the meantime. Building renovation, construction and outdoor work are scheduled for 2026 through 2028.
A $600,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will pay for outdoor improvements such as landscaping, accessible paths and native plantings, according to the district. Fundraising for the project is still underway.
The board's regular October meeting is at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Champaign Public Library, 200 W. Green St.; its agenda had not been posted Thursday afternoon.
Source: Champaign County Forest Preserve District special meeting agenda, Oct. 13, 2026; district board meetings page and Nature Center project page.