Housing advocates rally at Bloomington city hall as two key public bodies trade blame

At least 60 people gathered on the steps of Bloomington city hall on Monday (July 6) evening with a demand for two government bodies involved in a complicated real estate dispute: Talk to each other.

One sign held by a demonstrator put it gently, with the letters “RDC + CIB Hug it Out” inside the outline of a heart.

Another sign was more pointed, aimed directly at Bloomington’s mayor, Kerry Thomson: “The housing crisis is your fault, Mayor Thomson.” Thomson’s first name made a rhyme for one of the call-and-response chants used by demonstrators: Hey, hey, Kerr-y! Save Semi-nary!

The rally started outside, but after a round of speeches and chants, demonstrators headed into the city hall building. Organizers climbed the stairs, held banners from the second-floor balcony and delivered remarks from above to the crowd gathered below.

The rally was organized by Bloomington Homes for All as part of its campaign to preserve housing and commercial space at Seminary Pointe, through a hoped-for land swap.

In the land-swap scenario, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC), would give the Monroe County capital improvement board (CIB) the RDC-owned College Square property north of the convention center for development of a host hotel. The CIB is tasked under a city-county interlocal agreement with the convention center expansion and selection of a host hotelier. In return for College Square, the RDC would get the CIB-owned Seminary Pointe block south of the convention center.

College Square, also known as the former Bunger & Robertson property, is a vacant lot at the southwest corner of College Avenue and 2nd Street. It is owned by the RDC.

Seminary Pointe, south of the existing convention center, is owned by the CIB. It includes low-rent apartments and businesses including Friendly Beasts Cidery, Blue Tip Billiards, My Sister’s Closet and Jeff’s Warehouse.

The CIB acquired Seminary Pointe and other nearby properties from the Monroe County government for possible use as the site of a host hotel serving the convention center expansion.

Housing advocates ultimately want Seminary Pointe transferred to Avalon Community Land Trust, with the existing low-rent apartments and commercial spaces preserved under a cooperative model.

At Monday’s rally, organizers urged the RDC to call a special meeting and open negotiations with the CIB before the CIB selects a host-hotel developer.

“We’re just asking for the two government bodies to talk and figure something out in the best interest of the whole community,” Bryce Greene told the crowd. “Is that too much to ask?”

The timing is tight, as both the CIB and the RDC are pursuing their own formal processes for developing the real estate they each own. The deadlines for those processes don’t align.

The CIB is set to interview two hotel development teams—Dora Hospitality and MHG Hotels—on Wednesday (July 8). A final decision is scheduled for July 15. But the RDC’s separate public offering for College Square does not close until July 20.

That puts the CIB on track to select a hotel developer for Seminary Pointe five days before the deadline for proposals on the College Square property, which housing advocates and the CIB would prefer to use for the hotel.

[Bloomington Convention Center timeline]

Trading statements

In the early afternoon hours on Monday, ahead of the rally, Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson’s administration issued a press release on the topic with the headline: “Thomson Administration Outlines Path Forward for Seminary Pointe and Convention Center Hotel.”

The news release recites a lot of the history of the issue, mostly restating the RDC position that it could not justify agreeing to the 30-day pause that the CIB had requested before the RDC issued its public offering for the College Square site. When the RDC refused to take a 30-day pause to negotiate, the CIB then released its own request for proposals for the Seminary Pointe real estate.

Separate from the mayor’s news release, RDC executive director Anna Killion-Hanson released a Q & A document with a lot of the history of the issue.

The RDC wanted the CIB to submit the land swap as a proposal for College Square in the context of the RDC’s public offering, along with any other parties who might have been interested in developing the College Square lot. Thomson’s Monday news release said that the RDC’s public offering “gave the CIB an avenue to negotiate.”

The response to the mayor’s Monday news release from CIB president John Whikehart restated his position that the interlocal agreement spells out what is supposed to happen when the CIB makes a request for real estate like College Square that it thinks is needed for the convention center expansion project: “The Parties shall in good faith review and negotiate regarding such requests.”

The mayor’s news release says that Whikehart’s recent statements saying the RDC has rejected the CIB four times “do not reflect the official record.” Thomson’s news release continues, “There has been no official offer.”

Whikehart’s response addresses the mayor’s statement about the number of times the CIB has requested negotiations by saying:

I also stand by the accuracy of my personal statements as to the numerous attempts made directly to the mayor or in communication to the mayor and RDC to discuss a land exchange. A discussion has always been the offer. I assume a reference to “the official record” would want to limit counting those attempts to only those found in formal minutes of RDC meetings. That does not accurately reflect efforts. It deflects from them.

The RDC’s College Square offering has a $7.59 million minimum based on two appraisals. But Monday’s city release admits that the market is unlikely to produce that amount, unless the city accepts the kind of high-rise, luxury, student-oriented development that the administration and RDC do not want for the site.

The release describes the public offering as a necessary step that will let the RDC test the market and then determine its next move. According to the administration’s account of the legal process, if the RDC receives no acceptable offers, it can reject them and later negotiate a different transaction consistent with state law.

The RDC’s public offering says, “The RDC reserves the right to reject any or all offers.” The mayor’s news release claims that starting negotiations with the CIB before the current offering period concludes “could subject the RDC to litigation.”

Whikehart’s response means the two sides are still at odds not just over the substance of a possible deal, but over the basic question of what process should be used to reach one.

The city says the RDC’s public offering is the lawful and transparent path toward a possible transaction. The CIB says the interlocal agreement already calls for direct negotiations over property needed for the convention center project.

What the advocates want

Under the proposal from Homes for All, the CIB would trade Seminary Pointe for College Square. The hotel could then be developed on College Square, while Seminary Pointe could be preserved.

Bloomington Homes for All has presented a plan under which Avalon Community Land Trust would take ownership of Seminary Pointe and a cooperative would operate the property.

At a June 20 public forum, organizers presented a plan that calls for roughly $1.6 million in core rehabilitation work and about $2.16 million in total costs. At Monday’s rally, organizers said they have identified lenders and a development partner and have prepared construction and five-year financial plans.

The Thomson administration has stressed that a land swap alone would not guarantee preservation of the apartments. The city says a qualified owner or developer would still have to acquire or retain the property, make needed repairs and keep the units affordable.

Thomson’s Monday news release says she “support[s] the preservation of the 29 deeply affordable units currently located at Seminary Pointe.”

Meanwhile, the practical steps toward possible demolition of Seminary Pointe are in full swing.

The city’s historic preservation commission voted on June 25 to end demolition delays for two contributing structures on the block. The CIB has said demolition could begin as early as Oct. 1. Residential leases and three commercial leases have been extended through Aug. 31. The lease for Jeff’s Warehouse is set to end no later than Sept. 30.

Those approaching dates were part of the urgency at Monday’s rally.

Speakers urged people to send emails, make phone calls and attend both the July 15 CIB meeting and the July 20 RDC meeting. The RDC will be opening any proposals it receives for the College Square property at its July 20 meeting. At its July 15 meeting, the CIB expects to be selecting its preferred hotelier.

For a few minutes Monday evening, the dispute over appraisals, public offerings, interlocal agreements and competing development schedules was reduced to the chant echoing through the city hall atrium: “You work for us. Let’s figure this out.”