After losing in court, Bloomington RDC files appeals, preps Showers West mediation

Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) has taken a step toward possible settlement in its lease fights at Showers West, by voting Monday evening to authorize its president to resolve the cases through mediation.

On a 4–0 vote with one abstention, the RDC voted to authorize RDC president Deborah Myerson, or her designee, to settle litigation involving two Showers West tenants: Warrant Technologies LLC; and the Bloomington Board of Realtors. John West commissioner recused himself from the vote, citing membership in the Board of Realtors.

Assistant city attorney Dana Kerr told commissioners that a mediation session has been set for June 29 in each of the two related cases. The cases stem from the RDC’s attempt to clear out private tenants after it purchased the west half of the Showers complex, the former CFC Showers Business Plaza, for $8.75 million in 2023.

When the RDC bought the building, it assumed the existing leases with CFC Properties, including those held by Warrant Technologies and the Board of Realtors. The city’s lawyers later advanced a theory that those long‑term leasehold interests had been “inversely condemned” by the public acquisition and intended governmental use of the building. On that theory, the RDC contended it could terminate the leases and force the tenants out.

In March, Monroe County circuit court judge Kara Krothe rejected that argument in both cases, granting summary judgment to the tenants and denying the RDC’s cross‑motions. Orders: [Warrant Technologies] [Bloomington Board of Realtors]

The city of Bloomington has filed notice that it intends to appeal the cases. The mediation could wrap up the cases while he appeals are pending.

In her orders issued on both cases, Krothe concluded that the RDC could not use an “inverse condemnation” theory to terminate the leases in the absence of lawful eminent‑domain action. A key piece of that analysis was Indiana’s redevelopment statute. Under state law, a redevelopment commission does not itself have eminent‑domain authority.

Under state law, if a redevelopment commission wants property condemned for one of its projects, it has to ask the legislative body, which is the city council in Bloomington’s case, to authorize use of the city’s eminent‑domain power on the commission’s behalf.

The city council was never asked to take that step for the Showers West leases, and Krothe’s rulings reflect that statutory gap.

Those legal questions have always been entwined with the financing and intended public use of the building. A late‑2022 bond issue of roughly $29.5 million helped finance the Showers West acquisition and other public‑safety projects, and contemplated using the building for city operations, including fire department administration and a new police headquarters.

At a June 2025 RDC meeting, corporation counsel Margie Rice told commissioners that the city’s bond counsel had advised against leasing Showers West space to private tenants, saying that rental to private entities was not consistent with the public‑use purpose underlying the bonds.

Bloomington’s fire department has since moved into Showers West, but mayor Kerry Thomson’s administration decided not to pursue relocating the police department there. That decision eased the immediate space pressure to clear the building for a police headquarters, but it left unresolved the bond‑counsel concern about private tenants occupying space in a publicly financed facility.

Other Showers West tenants have exited through negotiated agreements rather than litigation. CASA, for example, agreed to vacate its space in exchange for $45,751 and two Fourth Street garage parking passes for one year.

The disputes with Warrant Technologies and the Board of Realtors have followed a different track. After losing on summary judgment in Monroe County circuit court, the city filed notices of appeal in both cases. As of Monday morning, no appellate briefs or other substantive filings had been made beyond those notices.

Monday’s RDC action does not itself settle the cases, but it charts out a path for resolving the case by designating who may speak for the RDC in the June 29 mediation sessions.

During the brief discussion before the vote, Myerson suggested splitting the mediation work between herself and commissioner Randy Cassady, given the time demands. Assistant city attorney Dana Kerr recommended wording that would allow Myerson, “or her designee,” to act on the RDC’s behalf, with the city’s corporation counsel also remaining authorized to reach a settlement agreement, if needed.