Apartment City

Residents at Mallards Landing Retirement Center in East China Township are now able to enjoy an expanded community garden on the grounds thanks to a local boy scout . Vincent Gaytan constructed a paved wheelchair-friendly sidewalk behind the center from the dining hall to the outside raised vegetable garden . He then built two additional raised garden beds and planted vegetables, including lettuce, leeks, banana peppers and eggplant. Gaytan is a Life Scout with Marine City Boy Scout Troop 296 and is working to achieve Eagle Scout status . To achieve the highest rank in Scouting, Gaytan is required to complete an extensive community service project . “I chose to help Mallards Landing because I wanted the residents to be able to have an area to gather and keep active,” Gaytan wrote in a letter seeking donations for the project. “By providing boxes that all can access, my hope is they will keep their minds and bodies active while enjoying a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables.” ...

CHAMPAIGN - When brothers Jeff, Steve and Mike Hartman went into the real estate development and management business together, they combined more than the initials of their first names. They also merged everything their father taught them about the construction business and all their mother taught them about family loyalty in their three enterprises, JSM Apartments, JSM Development and JSM Management. Under the JSM umbrella, the Hartmans now own and manage 700 apartments and 114,000 square feet of commercial space in Champaign-Urbana, including the new Technology Plaza apartment/retail/office complex in Campustown. And they have more developments on the way. Already started are a new apartment/retail complex on Gregory Street in Urbana, near the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and a new retail center on South Neil Street in Champaign, where Hillcrest Lumber used to be. The Hartmans say they work well together in business, running things jointly and never undertakin...