Tag: historic preservation

$500 “goodwill gesture” goes to Johnson’s Creamery smokestack owner from Bloomington historic group

On Thursday, Peerless Development received a $500 grant award from Bloomington’s historic preservation commission (HPC)—in connection with an engineering study that found the Johnson’s Creamery smokestack to be structurally unsound.

B Square file photo of Johnson’s Creamery smokestack in the first half of 2022.

Peerless owns the historic smokestack, along with the creamery building, which is located off 7th Street on the B Line Trail. Earlier this year, the city council designated the building as a historic district.

Peerless is currently looking at a cost of around $350,000 to partly demolish the smokestack and another $250,000, which mayor John Hamilton’s administration wants the developer to contribute towards commemorative art for the smokestack.

The city of Bloomington has ordered Peerless to reduce the height of the smokestack from 140 feet to 60 feet.

Compared to the half million dollars in smokestack-related costs Peerless might be facing, the size of the HPC’s grant is small.

But as HPC member Sam DeSollar put it, “I think it’s a goodwill gesture.” Peerless has had to spend “a bucket of money” to figure out how to deal with the smokestack and its unsafe lean, DeSollar said. “I won’t feel guilty about defraying their costs by $500.” He added, “And we’re going to have to work with these folks in the future on what happens with this—so I’m going to support this.”

Dissenting on the vote was Matthew Seddon, who said the cost of the Arsee Engineers report was definitely within the guidelines for the grant, which talks about consulting fees. But the guidelines for the HPC grants say the consulting fees are supposed to be associated with the rehabilitation of a historic property. From Seddon’s perspective, the project was not about rehabilitation: “These guys are taking the thing down!” Continue reading “$500 “goodwill gesture” goes to Johnson’s Creamery smokestack owner from Bloomington historic group” →

Historic smokestack owner gets $20K from Bloomington enterprise group, none yet from HPC

Bloomington’s urban enterprise association (BUEA) voted unanimously on Wednesday to award Peerless Development a $20,000 grant.

Closeup of Johnson’s Creamery smokestack.

The grant was  awarded in connection with demolition of the Johnson’s Creamery historic smokestack from 140 feet to 60 feet.

The real estate developer has been ordered by the city of Bloomington to reduce the smokestack’s height due to its unsafe lean, as determined by a study done by Arsee Engineers.

In addition to the demolition work, Peerless described the project in its BUEA grant application as including the repair of the remaining exterior to replace missing mortar joints and to fill cracks with new, sound materials.

The amount Peerless requested in the application was $50,000. The estimated cost of the demolition is pegged at around $350,000. The $50,000 was five times the limit for any one application.

The BUEA’s documentation of facade grants says “The grant may be up to $10,000 per application.”

The $20,000 awarded by the BUEA is twice the amount of the application limit, but matches the limit for one organization in any calendar year.

A week earlier, Bloomington’s historic preservation commission (HPC) had been asked to award Peerless $500 under its consulting grant program.

HPC members put off a vote, asking for additional details. Continue reading “Historic smokestack owner gets $20K from Bloomington enterprise group, none yet from HPC” →

No decisions yet on Johnson’s Creamery smokestack

This photo is from the Arsee Engineers report showing the lean of the Johnson’s Creamery smokestack to the southeast.
Historic district commissioner Reynard Cross at the March 24, 2022 meeting of Bloomington’s historic district preservation commission.

[This article focuses on the procedural issues that have led to the current state of affairs. Namely, neither the Bloomington city council nor the historic preservation commission has taken action, yet.]

If things had unfolded differently on Wednesday, the Bloomington city council could have enacted a historic district for the Johnson’s Creamery building.

And on Thursday, the historic district commission (HPC) could have approved a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition of the former creamery’s smokestack down to 60 feet. The current smokestack, which was built in 1949, is now 140 feet tall.

Neither the city council nor the historic preservation commission took action this week. Continue reading “No decisions yet on Johnson’s Creamery smokestack” →

Bloomington OKs single-house historic district or: A lesson in cursive writing—how to form the letter ‘p’

At its final meeting of the year on Wednesday, Bloomington’s council approved the establishment of a single-house historic district.

It’s the Reverend James Faris House at 2001 East Hillside Drive, which is in the southeast part of town.

The vote on Wednesday by the city council was uncontroversial. In mid-October, Bloomington’s historic preservation commission had given a recommendation for the historic designation of the house.  The property is rated as “Notable” in the State Historic Architectural and Archeological Research Database (SHAARD).

The house was determined to satisfy both categories of criteria for designation: historic and architectural.

On the architectural side, the house was determined to show an architectural style, detail, or other element in danger of being lost and to exemplifies the built environment in an era of history.

According to material provided in the meeting information packet by Gloria Colom Braña, Bloomington’s historic preservation program manager, the house is a “remarkably intact example of the I-House form.” The style was prominent in Indiana from 1820 to 1890, according to the staff memo. The house is built from handmade brick which means that it was dug and fired on site, according to the memo.

On the historic side, the Reverend James Faris, who built the house, became the first pastor of the Bloomington Reformed Presbyterian church in 1827. Faris was born in South Carolina in 1791, and moved to Bloomington in 1826, according to the staff memo.

He was a purported conductor on the Underground Railroad, according to the resolution establishing the district. Continue reading “Bloomington OKs single-house historic district or: A lesson in cursive writing—how to form the letter ‘p’” →

Bloomington city council: Yes on historic designation for hospital building, No on restaurant

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Annotated Kohr aerial Screen Shot 2020-12-07 at 11.39.43 AM

The Kohr Administration Center at IU Health’s hospital, at 1st and South Rogers streets, was given historic designation by Bloomington’s city council on Wednesday night.

The vote about the Kohr building by the nine-member city council was unanimous.

Also unanimous was the council’s decision at the same meeting to deny historic designation to the building on South Walnut Street that was most recently home to the Player’s Pub.

The thumbs-up from the city council on the Kohr building means it will join the parking garage as one of the buildings on the hospital site that IU Health will not demolish before it hands over the facility to the city of Bloomington in a $6.5 million real estate deal.

The handover will come after IU Health leaves the 2nd Street complex around the end of 2021, to occupy its new location on the SR-46 bypass. Continue reading “Bloomington city council: Yes on historic designation for hospital building, No on restaurant” →

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).

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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” →

Bloomington city council OKs new conservation district, gets a quick lesson in Black history

When the 1940 U.S. census was taken in Bloomington, Indiana, the enumerator who visited 935 W. 7th Street took down the information about the residents of the house from Ada Deal, a 40-year-old Black woman.

She was born in Kentucky, like her husband, Maceo, who was one year older. The Deals had nine children at that time, ranging from seven-month-old Charlotte to 19-year-old Mary. They owned the house they lived in, which was valued at $1,200.

Maceo Deal, who’s listed as the “head of household,” is described as an “interior decorator” who worked for a department store.

Deal got a mention a couple weeks ago, at the Dec. 4 meeting of Bloomington’s city council. That’s when the council gave unanimous approval to  a new conservation district on the west side of town, where Deal used to live. A conservation district is similar to, but less restrictive than, a historic district.

It was Near West Side citizen Betty Bridgwaters, who cited Deal, when she made remarks from the public podium.

Deal’s name came up in connection with some descriptions of local Black history, which left the staff report about the new district “a little skewed,” as Bridgwaters put it. Continue reading “Bloomington city council OKs new conservation district, gets a quick lesson in Black history” →

Odds good for historic conservation district on near west side of Bloomington

Annotated R Map HISTORIC DISTRICT Historicxxxx

At its committee-of-the-whole meeting last Wednesday—the day after municipal elections were held in two city council districts—the Bloomington city council’s deliberations included the outcome of a different kind of public vote.

A referendum among the owners of 325 properties in the proposed Near West Side Conservation District came out 70-47 in favor of establishing the district. It’s the area roughly bounded on the north by the railroad right-of-way alongside Butler Park, on the south by Kirkwood Avenue and on the west by North Adams.

The council’s vote on Wednesday to recommend (to itself) approval of the conservation district was 8–0. The conservation district is planned to be taken up for a council vote at it’s Dec. 4 meeting. Based on the committee vote, it can be expected to pass.

Another, future vote among property owners, to be taken three years after the district is approved, will determine whether the district remains a conservation district or is elevated to a historic district. Unless a majority of property owners object, the conservation district automatically converts to a historic district.

In a historic district, any exterior alterations are subject to review by the city’s historic preservation commission (HPC). In a conservation district, it’s just moving or demolishing buildings, or constructing new buildings that are subject to HPC review. Continue reading “Odds good for historic conservation district on near west side of Bloomington” →

Bloomington fines owner of property $83.5K for demolishing historic house without permit, owner to appeal

According to a press released issued Monday afternoon and subsequent clarification from the city, Bloomington’s department of planning and transportation has levied an $83,500 fine against the owners of a house on 7th Street. They demolished the house in late September without first obtaining a certificate of zoning compliance.

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523 W. 7th Street on Sept. 30, 2019 (Dave Askins/Beacon)

On Aug. 8, the city’s historic preservation commission (HPC) recommended the house to the city council for historic designation. The commission’s resolution did not explicitly say that the house was being put under interim protection.

But the requirement of a certificate of zoning compliance before demolition applies to structures whether or not they’re under consideration for historic designation. It was the owners’ request for such a certificate that led to the demolition delay process, which the HPC was following when it made its recommendation for historic designation.

The amount of the fine, according to the press release, was based on a penalty levied for each day the property was in violation of the city code, but capped at the most recent assessed value of the house and garage by Monroe County’s auditor.

Late Monday afternoon, Bloomington’s corporation counsel, Philippa Guthrie, told The Beacon that the property owners, David Holdman and Judie Baker, had filed an appeal of the city’s decision to fine them.

A notice of the violation was sent to  Holdman and Judie Baker on Oct. 16, according to the press release. The press release says that the property owners have a right to appeal to the city’s board of zoning appeals within five days of the date of the notice.

Guthrie said the appeal is currently set for the BZA’s next meeting, which is Nov. 21. Continue reading “Bloomington fines owner of property $83.5K for demolishing historic house without permit, owner to appeal” →