In 2019, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) paid $4,995,000 for most of the downtown block that formerly housed the Bunger & Robertson law firm.
It was a move that put a significant sum behind the city’s preferred site for the planned expansion of the Monroe Convention Center. But it came with at least some amount of controversy for what was supposed to be a city-county collaboration.
For some of the actors involved in convention center planning at the time, it had been an open question: Should the expansion be located north or south of the existing convention center at 3rd Street and College Avenue? The city’s purchase appeared to be an attempt to settle that question.
The price tag was just under the $5-million statutory threshold that would have required the city council’s approval. And the deal still did not put the whole block under the city’s control.
The city was still negotiating with a different property owner for the remaining 0.4 acres, which consists of about 45 surface parking spaces.
Now, Bloomington’s RDC is set to buy the remaining part of the block.
On the RDC’s Monday meeting agenda is a purchase agreement for $1.9 million to buy the parcel located at 216 S. College Ave. Continue reading “Bloomington set to pay $1.9 million for NE part of parking lot, planned for convention center expansion”