The Estate Sale, a home furnishings and antiques shop that opened in downtown Champaign last year, is nearly ready to open at its new location at the former Champaign-Urbana Public Health District headquarters.

The building at 710 N. Neil St. has been under extensive remodeling since store owner Bob Grossman bought it last spring, and the store is set to open there Sept. 27, according to manager Cib Johnson.

Grossman is also moving his offices for Grossman & Associates, a computer software company, to the same building.

But three-quarters of the space in this 12,000-square-foot building is being devoted to a large showroom for The Estate Sale, which carries antiques, furniture, artwork, jewelry, home accessories and some reproduction pieces.

Johnson said the entrance is being done in Art Deco style, but the store will carry furnishings from a variety of periods.

The store is being arranged in room vignettes, including bedrooms, dining rooms and living rooms.

"I think we have a real nice mix that people will love," Johnson said.

Engineering firm has new head

George Sodemann, who founded Sodemann and Associates in 1955, has retired and sold his ownership interest to his eldest son, Steven Sodemann.

Steven Sodemann started working with the civil engineering firm in the late 1960s when he was in high school, lived out of the area for a time, and came back to work for the firm nine years ago, he said. Before taking over as president, he served as a vice president.

The firm said longtime employee Jerry Dewhirst has been named a vice president as part of the transition.

New court reporting firm started

Ace Court Reporting, a joint venture of two longtime court reporters, Holly Wingstrom and Susan Randolph, has opened at 201 W. Springfield Ave., Suite 904.

They will offer service for depositions, hearings and arbitration proceedings, Wingstrom said.

Both operated their own court reporting services out of their homes before getting together in this new venture.

For information, call 403-1010 or 888-334-3376 (DEPO).

Stores supporting charities

Shoppers have two chances to support breast cancer research and treatment:

– The Tanger Outlet Center in Tuscola will raise money for the Mills Breast Cancer Institute at Carle by selling "pink cards" from Sept. 17-Oct. 19. The cards are available for a $1 donation, and entitle shoppers to 25-percent discounts at participating stores. The cards are available at the outlet customer service center.

– For each woman who tries on a piece of clothing at the Coldwater Creek store at Market Place Mall, Champaign, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 21, the store will donate $1 to the local affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

No purchase is necessary, but the store will also donate 10 percent of the day's sales to that organization.

Also, Green View Companies is raffling off a $10,000 landscape giveaway to raise money for Children's Miracle network.

Chances cost $10, and can be purchased at local Green View garden centers prior to the drawing Sept. 25 in Springfield, the company said. Winners don't have to be present to win.

High-tech farm learning

About 700 people have been trained so far at the new Prairie State Technology Center since it opened this past spring, says Jeremy Wilson of Crop IMS, one of the partners in the new center.

The facility 3 miles south of Bondville on Champaign County Road 1300 N offers farmers a chance to learn how to use technology through classroom instruction, a computer lab and hands-on training in the field.

Others involved in the center are Precision Ag Equipment based in Arthur; AutoFarm, a California-based GPS precision farming technology maker; and SST Development Group, a software and information management service company in Oklahoma.

For information, see the Web site at www.pstechcenter.com.

Are you opening a new business or changing something at your existing business? Debra Pressey can be reached by phone at 351-5229 or 800-252-3346; by e-mail at dpressey@news-gazette.com; or by regular mail at The News-Gazette, c/o It's Your Business column, P.O. Box 677, Champaign, IL 61824-0677.