Uptown Mural

The new version of the proposed Trail East and West development project in Uptown Normal would be primarily residential housing on the north side of the traffic circle straddling Constitution Trail. And a controversial mural on a building in the project footprint would likely be torn down.

An overwhelming majority of Normalites say they're all in for public art. Results of a survey distributed in May indicated 85% of people who live, work or play in Normal support public dollars going toward public art.

Town of Normal staff have recommended the council choose an Iowa development company to build the $50-60 million Trail East and Trail West projects in Uptown.

The Town of Normal hopes to use a revised public art plan, among other things, to avoid future controversies over public art. Art expresses a sense of community in a given cultural moment. It is a snapshot in time.

The Town of Normal has formulated a new way to choose whether, which, and how to place art in public spaces. The town has supported public art for decades, but recently, a controversy over a mural in uptown prompted staff to re-examine the process to make it more intentional.

The developer of the Trail East project in Uptown Normal has pulled out of the deal. Bush Construction tells the town the time is not right to go ahead.

After a vote delayed more than a year, the Normal Town Council on Monday changed zoning rules in the One Normal Plaza development, stopping short of allowing any wine and liquor shops there.

The long-delayed Trail East in Uptown Normal is downsizing. Town planner Mercy Davison said Friday developers want to build a four-story structure instead of a five-story building.

The fierce debate over the future of the Uptown Normal mural has inspired a documentary about the controversy and the role public art plays in our lives.…

UPDATED 10:35 a.m. | A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Uptown mural artists against the Town of Normal and its Trail East developer,…