Manhattan Adopts Downtown Design Guidelines to Unify and Revitalize Village Center

Manhattan Village Board Meeting | November 4, 2025

Article Summary: The Manhattan Village Board on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, unanimously approved a new set of Downtown Design Guidelines aimed at creating a cohesive, historically-inspired aesthetic for the village’s commercial center to attract new businesses and foster a more pedestrian-friendly environment.

Downtown Design Guidelines Key Points:

• The guidelines provide a voluntary framework for new construction and existing building renovations, focusing on a “turn-of-the-century prairie railroad community” theme.

• Key elements addressed include architectural style, building scale and height, color palettes, materials, signage, and lighting.

• The plan was developed with input from residents, business owners, and the Manhattan Township Historical Society.

• The village may offer incentives like grants or subsidies to encourage property owners to adopt the recommended design elements.

MANHATTAN, IL – The future development and renovation of downtown Manhattan will be guided by a new aesthetic framework after the Village Board on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, formally adopted its comprehensive Downtown Design Guidelines.

The document, created by Farnsworth Group in collaboration with village stakeholders, is intended to help unify the village’s historic center by encouraging a consistent architectural style that reflects Manhattan’s origins as a “turn-of-the-century prairie railroad community.” The approval is a key next step following the adoption of the village’s Downtown Redevelopment Master Plan in 2023.

John Striker, an architect with Farnsworth Group who managed the project, described the guidelines as a “kit of parts” or “toolbox” for business owners, developers, and residents. “What the whole goal here is to encourage development of the downtown area to revitalize and unify the downtown itself, attract visitors, attract new businesses, and foster more pedestrian activity and create a sense of community,” Striker explained during his presentation to the board.

The guidelines are not mandatory ordinances but rather a set of suggestions for materials, colors, lighting, signage, awnings, and other architectural features for both new “infill” construction and improvements to existing buildings.

Trustee Justin Young noted that the guidelines successfully balanced community concerns about over-modernization while still providing a clear path forward. “I think what we’ve done here is put together a way to refresh our town, unify our town… but still keep it in like a farm type country feel,” Young said. “Cleaning up the downtown is going to be huge for the businesses that are already there. And as we develop and grow that downtown development area, it’s going to be important to have some guidelines set in place to kind of stay on path.”

The village plans to lead by example, implementing the new design principles in upcoming renovations of the old village hall and projects with the Manhattan Township Historical Society. The full document will also be posted on the village website to serve as a resource for anyone considering a project downtown.

To encourage adoption, Striker and board members discussed the possibility of creating financial incentives. “Sometimes they can be incentivized financially potentially with either grants, rebates or subsidies to help offset some of their costs if they will kind of play along,” Striker said. Young echoed this, adding, “Hopefully we can come up with a way to incentivize residents and business owners to remodel.”

Trustee Lucinda Neighbors praised the document’s clarity and visual appeal. “The visuals are very clear and very crisp,” she said. “Anybody that can go on the website and not even actually read a lot of it but just to get the gist of it… the visuals I think were really excellent.”