Tag: demolition

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” →

Bloomington keeps tabs on building at 1st and Rogers for possible Hopewell demolition

Looking northwest from the intersection of Morton and 1st streets. (Feb. 19, 2024)
Bloomington RDC members from left: Deb Hutton, Deborah Myerson, Sue Sgambelluri, and Randy Cassady. (Feb. 19, 2024)
615 W. 1st Street with a sign outside giving notice of a historic preservation commission (HPC) hearing. (Feb. 19, 2024)
607 W. 1st Street has been mostly demolished. (Feb. 19, 2024)
714 S. Rogers St. looking south from the intersection of Rogers and 1st. (Feb. 19, 2024)
714 S. Rogers St. with Marshall Security car parked in the lot. The view is to the south from 1st Street. (Feb. 19, 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.

In the second week of February, the demolition of several buildings along the south side of Bloomington’s West 1st Street got started.

By Monday (Feb. 19) the building at 607 W. 1st Street had been mostly reduced to a pile of rubble.

The point of the demolition is to create a clean slate for developers who want to respond to a public offering of the property as part of the planned new Hopewell neighborhood. It’s part of the area where IU Health’s hospital previously stood.

In about 16 weeks, which works out to roughly the end of May, the work to raze the buildings is expected to be complete.

But the timing for the project completion could depend in part on whether two of the buildings on the south side of 1st Street are actually demolished.

Already known was the possibility that the California-style bungalow at 615 W. 1st Street could escape demolition—either through historic protection, or through a move to a different location. Bloomington’s historic preservation commission (HPC) is supposed to get an update on the status of the building at its Thursday (Feb. 22) meeting.

At its Jan. 25 meeting, the HPC voted to recommend that Anna Killion-Hanson, who is interim director of the HAND (housing and neighborhood development) department, extend by 30 days the demolition delay under which the property had been put. Killion-Hanson did extend the demolition delay by 30 days, which bought the house a little more time.

A different building—which was initially considered for demolition, but did not make the final list—might eventually be demolished.

Based on conversation between city of Bloomington staff and redevelopment commission (RDC) members at Monday’s RDC meeting, the building at 714 Rogers—the southwest corner of Rogers and 1st streets—could wind up getting razed. But that’s not certain.

Continue reading “Bloomington keeps tabs on building at 1st and Rogers for possible Hopewell demolition” →

$350K demolition contract for 1st Street Hopewell buildings OK’d, one needs historic review

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.
The image is from the Monroe County online property lookup system.
Google Street View looking southeast of 615 1st Street.

At its meeting this past Monday, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) approved a $353,052 contract with Renascent for the demolition of 10 buildings south of 1st Street, in the vicinity of Fairview and Rogers streets.

It’s part of the planned new Hopewell neighborhood that is supposed to be developed on the site of the former IU Health hospital at 2nd and Rogers Streets.

Renascent is the same company that brought down the hospital buildings for IU Health.

The extent of the demolition approved on Monday extends from a bit west of Fairview Street to Rogers Street on the east. Listed in the bid package as an “alternate” but not included in the demolition contract is the building at 714 S. Rogers Street.

Responding to a B Square question, housing and neighborhood development (HAND) director John Zody wrote about the 714 Rogers property: “We believe there is some interest in potential redevelopment of the 714 S. Rogers St. property.”  Zody added, “To ensure all development options are considered, the RDC will await responses from the active Public Offering before making a final decision related to demolition.” Continue reading “$350K demolition contract for 1st Street Hopewell buildings OK’d, one needs historic review” →

Photos: Brick-by-brick partial demolition of Johnson’s Creamery smokestack starts, as Bloomington watches like a hawk

On Thursday, the partial demolition got started for the Johnson’s Creamery smokestack, located off the B-Line Trail and 7th Street.

Two workers in a metal cage suspended from a crane first removed the topmost metal reinforcement band from around the stack, which they lowered to the ground.

With the metal band out of the way, they used a hand-held power tool to bust up bits of the masonry and shoved loosened bricks over into the hollow interior of the stack.

The work circled the smokestack counterclockwise (east-to-north-to-west-to-south). By the end of Thursday, the first of the iconic vertical letters had disappeared against partly cloudy blue skies. That meant the smokestack would, at least overnight, read “OHNSON’S.”

While workers chipped away at the top of the smokestack, a red-tailed hawk kept watch two blocks east, on top of the antenna affixed to the roof of Monroe County’s Charlotte Zietlow Justice Center. Continue reading “Photos: Brick-by-brick partial demolition of Johnson’s Creamery smokestack starts, as Bloomington watches like a hawk” →

Telecom gear gone from Johnson’s Creamery smokestack, partial demolition to come next week

Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)
Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)
Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)
Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)
Workers remove AT&T telecommunications gear from the historic Johnson’s Creamery smokestack. (Aug. 8, 2022)

The actual “H” in the word “Johnson’s”—which is spelled out in the brick on the Johnson’s Creamery historic smokestack, off 7th Street in downtown Bloomington—is now visible.

Until Monday, the letter had been obscured by some AT&T telecommunications equipment that was installed at the top of the smokestack.  Two bars of the telecom gear had been colored white, as a stand-in for the “H” so that the name of the historic creamery was still legible.

On Monday morning, a crew from an AT&T contractor removed the telecommunications equipment from the top of the smokestack.

AT&T had been ordered to remove the equipment by Bloomington’s housing and neighborhood development (HAND) department.

The removal of the gear sets the stage for the partial demolition of the smokestack, which has been ordered by Bloomington’s housing and neighborhood development (HAND) department, because an engineering study determined that the smokestack is structurally unsound.

The smokestack, with its unsafe lean, is supposed to be knocked down from 140 feet to 60 feet.

The Johnson’s Creamery building, which is now its own local historic district, is owned by Peerless Development.

Responding to an emailed question from The B Square, Peerless founder Michael Cordaro indicated on Monday that his contractors should be on site next week to begin the demolition and restoration work on the smokestack. He estimated the time for that work at four to six weeks. Continue reading “Telecom gear gone from Johnson’s Creamery smokestack, partial demolition to come next week” →

IU Poplars: Bloomington board closes streets so public stands clear when walls come crumblin’ down

The aerial image with perspective from from the north is from the Monroe County online property lookup system.
View from the north of the Poplar Building on 7th Street on July 19, 2022.

“You have a beautiful neighborhood that we want to assist in improving ever further by the removal of the IU Poplars Building.”

That’s a line from a July 12 heads-up letter that was hand-delivered by Renascent, Inc. to neighbors of the Indiana University Poplars Building on 7th Street, west of campus.

Renascent is the company that has been contracted to do the demolition work, which has already started.

The hand-delivered letter warned residents of upcoming closures of Grant Street, west of the building, and Dunn Street, east of the building.

The sentiment in Renascent’s letter reflects the lack of affection for the building, which was constructed in 1964 as a hotel, purchased by Indiana University in 1972, and eventually converted to office space. Continue reading “IU Poplars: Bloomington board closes streets so public stands clear when walls come crumblin’ down” →

First phase demolition for Hopewell: Bloomington picks Renascent for $589K job

The west end of the former IU Health hospital site. (June 22, 2022)
The base aerial image of the Phase 1 East area for redevelopment is from Monroe County’s online property lookup system. Yellow highlights and numbers were added by The B Square.

By the end of summer, all but three of the buildings on a central Bloomington block, near the former IU Health hospital site, are set to be demolished.

It’s the area that has been named the Hopewell neighborhood.

On Tuesday evening, Bloomington’s board of public works, as well as the city’s redevelopment commission (RDC), approved the $588,755 contract with Indianapolis-based Renascent, Inc. for the demolition work.

It’s a separate demolition project from the one already underway on the west end of the former IU Health hospital site. IU Health has to demolish all the structures on the main site, except for the parking garage and the Kohr administration building, before transferring ownership to the city of Bloomington.

It’s part of a $6.5-million real estate deal. In early December last year,  IU Health moved to its new facility on the east side of town, on the SR 45/46 bypass.

The focus of the demolition work approved on Tuesday is Phase 1 East in the city’s master plan for redevelopment of the former hospital site.  It’s the block bounded by 1st and 2nd streets on the north and south, and Morton and Rogers on the east and west. The demolition contract approved on Tuesday involves property already under the city’s control. Continue reading “First phase demolition for Hopewell: Bloomington picks Renascent for $589K job” →

Old Colonial Crest redux: Bloomington OKs mostly same site plan for 671-bedroom student-oriented housing project, but under different zoning

bordered low res R Map Locator old The Arch parcelYYYxxxx
labeled bordered for inset R Map Locator old The Arch parcelYYYxxxx

Approved by Bloomington’s plan commission on Monday night was a site plan for a project that would demolish the old Colonial Crest apartment complex, now called The Arch, on the north side of town.

In the place of 206 apartments and 393 bedrooms, spread across 15 separate two-story buildings, the developer plans to construct four residential buildings with a total of 241 apartments and 675 bedrooms, according to a letter from Smith Design Group, which is the consultant for the Aspen TOPCO II Acquisitions project.

That nets roughly 270 more bedrooms on the same site.

It’s basically the same site plan that the plan commission approved in mid-June.

According to Bloomington senior zoning planner Eric Greulich, the big difference between the version approved by the plan commission on Monday, compared to what was approved three months ago, is the lack of any new public roads proposed inside the project site.

Instead, Greulich said, one long driveway will wind through the site, with perpendicular parking off the driveway. A total of 495 parking spaces is included in the site plan. Continue reading “Old Colonial Crest redux: Bloomington OKs mostly same site plan for 671-bedroom student-oriented housing project, but under different zoning” →

Circuit court trial on demolition permit could come before mid-March BZA hearing on $83.5K fine

Now expected to appear on the March 19 agenda of Bloomington’s board of zoning appeals (BZA) meeting is an objection to the city’s decision last fall to impose an $83,500 fine on the owners of a West 7th Street house.

The owners demolished the house without a required certificate of zoning compliance (CZC).

cropped 2020-01-21 historic house demolition IMG_6189
View of 523 West 7th St. facing south on Jan. 21, 2020. A house stood there until late September 2019.

The house had previously been reviewed by the city’s historic preservation commission for historic designation.

The BZA hearing was originally set for last November, but it has been put off a couple of times due to scheduling conflicts.

In the last week of February, a related lawsuit filed by the owners against city and county officials saw a light flurry of filings in the Monroe County circuit court. The lawsuit seeks a mandate from the court ordering the city’s planning and transportation director, Terri Porter, to issue the required CZC.

The question now is whether a ruling on the court case will come before or after the BZA hearing.

Just how connected are the court case and the BZA hearing? Continue reading “Circuit court trial on demolition permit could come before mid-March BZA hearing on $83.5K fine” →

Owners of demolished house fight Bloomington’s $83.5K fine two ways: Court action, appeal to BZA

After the owners of a house on West 7th Street demolished it last year, the city of Bloomington imposed an $83,500 fine—for not first getting a certificate of zoning compliance.

Before the house was demolished, it was reviewed for possible historic designation. According to city officials, it was still under the review process, when it was demolished.

The city imposed the fine in late October, after the house was demolished on Sept. 27.

What has happened since then?

Baker and Holdman immediately appealed to the city’s board of zoning appeals (BZA). A bit later, in mid-December, they filed a mandamus action in Monroe’s circuit court. Continue reading “Owners of demolished house fight Bloomington’s $83.5K fine two ways: Court action, appeal to BZA” →