Innkeeper’s tax helps pay for upgrades to existing Bloomington Convention Center

On Saturday morning (May 30), the Monroe County capital improvement board (CIB) signed off on about $2.1 million in renovation work for the existing downtown Bloomington Convention Center. That completed a package of alternate bid items related to the expansion project which is under construction across College Avenue from the building.

On Sept. 17 last year, the CIB had approved about $500,000 in renovation work for the existing convention center building. That previously approved work, which included new kitchen equipment and technology infrastructure, was more directly connected to the functioning of the expansion and the existing building as two coordinated buildings, according to CIB president John Whikehart.

The remaining four alternate bid projects, Whikehart said, were essentially deferred maintenance on the existing building that would have needed attention even if the expansion project had not been undertaken. The four packages approved on Saturday morning included HVAC units, masonry repairs, a dedicated outside air system (DOAS) unit, and one-for-one window replacements.

To afford some of the additional work approved on Saturday morning, the CIB relied on a commitment of about $1.6 million of funding from the convention and visitors commission (CVC) which drew on reserves from the 5% innkeeper’s tax that is imposed on all lodging in Monroe County. On Saturday morning, Whikehart thanked the CVC for its support.

The CIB itself had about $500,000 left in the construction budget for the convention center expansion that it could put towards renovations, which rounded out the roughly $2.1 million that was approved Saturday morning.

CIB president John Whikehart walked the board through the background of the vote. In February 2025, the board approved a final design that included six bid alternate packages for the renovation phase, which is scheduled for January through June 2027—that’s after the expansion phase is supposed to be completed.

The construction bids for the expansion project were awarded at $50.9 million, which left $1.1 million from the $52-million budget that could be spent on bid alternates—optional project components that can be added if the budget allowed. The $500,000 approved in September 2025, added to the roughly $500,000 from the CIB approved on Saturday, basically tapped out the $52-million construction budget.

CIB controller Jeff Underwood told board members that the additional expenditure will keep the overall contract with construction manager Weddle Bros. just under the previously approved $52 million total. That does not affect the construction contingency, which Weddle Bros. keeps in reserve, Underwood said.

Whikehart recounted discussions dating back to November 2025 with Mike Campbell, president of the Monroe County CVC about whether the group could help fund the remaining alternates. The urgency increased this month, Whikehart said, because the bids on those items were set to expire May 31. The window replacement package in particular was projected to jump by as much as 20%t if it were rebid, in part due to tariffs on Canadian-sourced window framing, Whikehart said. That accounted for the scheduling of the Saturday morning meeting.

Campbell then called a special CVC meeting for this past Wednesday, where CVC members unanimously agreed to commit the $1,593,819 out of their 2027 budget.

Board members on Saturday voted to award all four outstanding alternates, bringing the total for the alternates package to $2,100,075 and the CIB’s total awards for renovation to the existing building to $2,606,891.

An amendment to the Weddle Bros. contract to formally incorporate the newly awarded alternate bids is expected to come to the CIB for approval at its next regular meeting on June 17, 2026, at 3 p.m.