Tag: Chris Smith

1,143-bedroom student apartment building OK’d in Bloomington’s student housing zoning district

Link to dynamic map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1H3rUsnwWl5yT9YBQBI74-81KKv-jzSQ&usp=sharing
Bloomington plan commission (April 15, 2024)
Alyssa Gallina, with Core Spaces, addresses the Bloomington plan commission (April 15, 2024)

The demolition of about two dozen buildings—several of them single-family houses—north of 17th Street, between Lincoln and Washington streets, will start sometime in the last three months of this year.

The removal of the buildings will make way for a new student housing development called Bloomington HUB II, by Core Bloomington Lincoln, LLC, which will include 411 apartments with a total of 1,143 bedrooms. The development will also include 651 inside parking spaces.

Site plan approval for the project was given unanimous approval by Bloomington’s plan commission at its regular Monday meeting. Continue reading “1,143-bedroom student apartment building OK’d in Bloomington’s student housing zoning district” →

Beacon’s supportive housing site plan on 3rd Street gets OK from Bloomington, fundraising work remains

Bloomington plan commission. (April 15, 2024)
Beacon CEO Forrest Gilmore. (April 15, 2024)

Getting unanimous approval from Bloomington’s plan commission on Monday night was a site plan for the supportive housing and shelter facility that Beacon, Inc. is planning to build on 3rd Street south of Rose Hill Cemetery.

The 45,000-square-foot two-story building, which will include a day shelter, a 50-bed overnight shelter, 20 one-bedroom apartments, and 5 work-to-live units for on-site staff, was made legally possible by a conditional use approval for “supportive housing” that was granted by Bloomington’s board of zoning appeals (BZA) in October of 2023.

A $7 million grant that Beacon received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA will go some way towards covering the cost of the land purchase and the construction.

But after the approval on Monday night, Beacon CEO Forrest Gilmore indicated to The B Square that there is a big amount of fund raising left to do and nothing is a “done deal” until that is complete.

About the remaining fundraising, Gilmore said, “There’s still much to be done on that end as we prepare for our community appeal.”

Gilmore indicated that the nonprofit is hoping for a spring 2025 groundbreaking. Continue reading “Beacon’s supportive housing site plan on 3rd Street gets OK from Bloomington, fundraising work remains” →

Rezone of 140 acres for up to 4,250 housing units gets thumbs up from Bloomington plan commission

Overview map of Summit District PUD.
Close up proximity map of Summit District PUD.
Plan commission president Brad Wisler. (March 19, 2024)
Bloomington interim planning and transportation director Jackie Scanlan. (March 20, 2024)
Travis Vencel, with Sullivan Development, and Angela Parker, legal counsel for Sudbury Associates. (March 20, 2024)

A rezone request from Sudbury Partners, LLC for about 140 acres in the southwest part of the city has been forwarded by Bloomington’s plan commission to the city council with a positive recommendation.

Action by the commission on the rezone request from Sudbury Associates came  on Tuesday night. The vote on the nine-member plan commission was 8–0 7–0 with one abstention, from Chris Smith. Ellen Rodkey was absent.

The planned unit development (PUD) in the southwest of the city, called Summit District, would allow for the construction of 4,250 housing units, in five different new neighborhoods, with construction phased in a way that foresees a build-out over the next decade. Continue reading “Rezone of 140 acres for up to 4,250 housing units gets thumbs up from Bloomington plan commission” →