Today Babbitt's Bookstore will close its doors after spending eight years catering to Campustown shoppers, adding to the lengthy list of vacant properties in Campustown.

Why certain tenants stick around and others, such as Babbitt's, STA Travel and the Beyond The Wall poster store, do not survive is a matter of clientele, said Veronica Gonzalez, implementation planner for the city of Champaign.

"There is not a reliable clientele during the summer," Gonzalez said. "It is a challenge to survive on a nine-month income and go three months with little or no income."

Even if prospective tenants take out loans, they do not make enough during the school year to pay back the loans, she said.

Joann Longdon, a real estate agent at Green Street Realty for five years, agrees with Gonzalez.

The foot traffic is limited during the summer and the target market for the businesses in the heart of Campustown is students, Longdon said.

What appeals to the clientele is also a factor.

"Food places do well because the smell and food is inviting," Longdon said.

Longdon recently spoke to a tenant who sought to open a boutique on Green Street. The tenant would have to depend on impulse shopping by students, which does not provide enough income to rely on, she said.

Some vacant properties also get leased sooner than others after tenants vacate them.

The former Steve and Barry store, which sold T-shirts and other Illinois apparel until it went out of business in spring 2001, had been vacant for two years until recently.

Denver-based Qdoba Grills, a Mexican restaurant chain, has begun construction at the building site, said Ron Cook, owner of the building. The construction is expected to be completed in eight weeks.

Cook attributed the problems of finding a tenant for the building to hassles with city classification codes.

City classification codes allow owners to lease their space only to certain kinds of businesses. Cook had to change classification of the space from a retail store to a restaurant in order to lease it to Qdoba Grills.

Cook said even though he is relieved to have found a tenant, the switch from one classification to another makes it "difficult for an existing building to meet new requirements."

Cook said his hopes for a good investment in buying the building have "not panned out."

"If students want to hold on to their turf, they must patronize Campustown," Cook said. "It is hard for tenants to maintain the building and pay the taxes (as they steadily increase)."

Champaign Mayor Jerry Schweighart insisted that in order to survive, Campustown business owners have to learn the market of the area.

While some local realtors said business owners are increasingly hesitant to open new stores on Green Street, Schweighart said there are still many developers who are able to make successes out of their Campustown properties.

City officials are now working with developers on plans for a parking garage, high-rise apartment buildings nearby the garage and a multi-story building at the corner of Sixth and Green streets west of Legends Bar and Grill.

Schweighart said he expected this latest construction to attract new tenants to Campustown.

"The Green Street renovations have increased the value of property on Green Street," Schweighart said.

The city is also seeking to develop the sidewalks and sanitation of the residential areas near Green Street, he said.