After nearly becoming a new home for ST Semiconductor in 1988, an 87-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Fullerton Pike and the I-69 has sat undeveloped for more than three decades.
The lack of any development on the site during that time has led owner Bill Brown to ask for a rezoning of the land, from the current planned unit development (PUD) district to mixed-use corridor (MC).
At a plan commission meeting in late 2020, Michael Carmin, who represents Brown, said he’s been approached for possible development of a hotel in the southwest corner of the property, next to I-69. He’s also been approached to develop a large part of the property as a training center for fire and emergency services.
The proposed rezone will find its way in front of the city council in a few weeks.
At their January meeting, commissioners voted affirmatively 6–2–1 to send the rezone request to the council with no recommendation. It’s not a common move, but plan commission president Brad Wisler said at the commission’s January meeting he thinks it’s been done before.
The city planning staff recommended denial of the rezoning based on the city’s comprehensive plan, which calls for the area to be an employment center.
The split vote reflected disagreement among the commissioners about how to signal their intent to the city council—about which they had a general consensus.
They did not think the proposal from Brown should be adopted in its current form. But they did not want the city council to see a recommendation of denial from both the plan commission and the plan staff, and because of that, let the proposal die without some additional consideration.
The consensus was put this way by Wisler: “It’s very, very clear to me that what needs to happen here is some negotiation.” Continue reading “87-acre site once mulled as new home for ST Semiconductor may get negotiated rezoning by Bloomington city council”
