Hopewell action on the ground moves ahead, as overall project assessment continues

Bloomington RDC members from left: John West, Deb Hutton, Deborah Myerson, Randy Cassady, and Sue Sgambelluri (March 4, 2024).

714 S. Rogers St. looking south from 1st Street (March 4, 2024)

607 W. 1st Street has been mostly demolished. (March 4, 2024)

Buildings shaded in green are authorized for demolition. The building shaded orange is 615 1st Street and would need to be reviewed by the historic preservation commission before demolition. The building shaded red is 714 S. Rogers St.

Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson (March 4, 2024).

Economic and sustainable development director, Jane Kupersmith (March 4, 2024)

Bloomington resident Dave Huber addresses the RDC as Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson looks on (March 4, 2024)

Pre-demolition aerial view of the Kohr administration building from Monroe County’s online property lookup system.

On Monday, contracts for work on two specific buildings in the Hopewell neighborhood, the site of the former IU Health hospital, were approved by Bloomington’s five-member redevelopment commission.

The former Bloomington Convalescent Center at 714 S. Rogers was subject of a $39,816 contract with VET Environmental Engineering, to mediate water damage inside the building.

The former Kohr administration building—which was one of two buildings not demolished by IU Health under the terms of the $6.5-million real estate deal between Bloomington and the health care provider—was subject of a $7,450 contract with B&L Sheet Metal and Roofing, to reinstall downspouts on the building.

The other building left standing on the property was the 390-space parking garage.

But on Monday, RDC members also got an update on the way the 24-acre redevelopment project is getting evaluated by new Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson’s administration.

She has formed an advisory team, which has, for the time being at least, put the the role of a non-profit called City of Bloomington Capital Improvements, Inc. (CBCI) in limbo. Continue reading “Hopewell action on the ground moves ahead, as overall project assessment continues” →

Column: Staring into the civic sun in 2024, the year of a solar eclipse

In 2024, the local civic cosmos could see some big changes, in the same year when a rare literal cosmic event will unfold.

On April 8, a solar eclipse will briefly cast a shadow directly over the Bloomington area, turning daylight into gloam. (Yes, that is an awfully fancy word for “twilight,” but it’s the kind of highfalutin fare that is customary for a newspaper year-in-preview column.)

During an eclipse, in the battle between dark and light across the visible disk of the sun, the dark begins with a steady assimilation of the light’s territory, but the light always reverses the trend and prevails in the end.

That’s either a great or a lousy metaphor for municipal annexation, depending on a person’s political perspective.

In fall of 2021, Bloomington’s city council approved the annexation of seven different territories, all of which are still the subject of litigation.

Metaphors aside, 2024 holds the potential for some court decisions on those pending annexations, which might settle the question of how much Bloomington’s boundaries will change.

Of course, annexation is just one of myriad civic issues that are in the queue for Bloomington and Monroe County in 2024.

Here’s a non-exhaustive rundown of topics The B Square will try to track in the coming year. Continue reading “Column: Staring into the civic sun in 2024, the year of a solar eclipse” →

Showers West prep for police, Hopewell owner’s rep: 2 RDC projects take steps forward

The image is from the master plan for the redevelopment of the Hopewell site, which is the former site of the IU Health hospital. The view is from the southwest.

The view is from the west of the Showers building. The pink outline shows the portion of the building that Bloomington has made an accepted offer to purchase from CFC Properties. The image is from the Pictometry module of Monroe County’s property lookup system.

At its Monday meeting, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) took incremental steps on two of its projects.

First, the RDC approved a $479,000 contract with U3 Advisors to serve as the owner’s representative for the redevelopment of the Hopewell neighborhood—which is the former site of the IU Health hospital, at 2nd and Rogers streets.

On a second item, the RDC approved a $100,000 contract with Axis Architecture for some preliminary design work on the western part of the Showers building—where city hall is located. It’s the portion of the building that is the planned future home of Bloomington’s police station and fire administration. Continue reading “Showers West prep for police, Hopewell owner’s rep: 2 RDC projects take steps forward” →