150-bed hotel deal moves ahead in Bloomington’s Trades District with OK from redevelopment group

From left: Bloomington RDC members John West, Deb Hutton, Deborah Myerson, and Sue Sgambelluri. Randy Cassady participated via the Zoom video conferencing platform. John Fernandez, vice president of The Mill, is seated to Sgambelluri’s left. (May 20, 2024)

At the table are IU Alluinn’s Charles Whittaker and The Mill’s John Fernandez. Seated in the audience is Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson. Behind Thomson is Bloomington’s director of economic and sustainable development, Jane Kupersmith. (May 20, 2024)

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View to the north from the top if the Trades District parking garage. Visible under construction is The Forge a technology center that the city of Bloomington is building with the help of a federal grant. (May 20, 2024)

Sometime in the second half of 2026, a new 150-room upscale hotel could be open for guests in Bloomington’s Trades District north of 10th Street, just across from the parking garage.

That’s if all goes according to the plan laid out in a letter of intent (LOI) signed by Alluinn IU Trades District Hotel and Pure Development. The idea is for Alluinn/Pure to construct the hotel, at a cost of $35 million, on land to be purchased for $1.2 million from the city of Bloomington, through its redevelopment commission (RDC).

Approval of the LOI came at Monday’s regular meeting of Bloomington’s RDC on a unanimous vote. RDC member Sue Sgambelluri voted “an enthusiastic yes” and RDC president Deb Hutton gave it “a definite yes.”

Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson was on hand to lend her support from the audience. About the proposal, Thomson said, “I think it brings a unique anchor to the Trades District.”

Thomson continued, “My vision of a fully active B-Line corridor that goes from Trades all the way down to Hopewell, that’s alive at every hour of the day.” Thomson added that she thinks the hotel will “magnetize” the Trade District. Continue reading “150-bed hotel deal moves ahead in Bloomington’s Trades District with OK from redevelopment group” →

Negative stamp on rezone for jail by Bloomington plan commission, could still win city council’s OK

Parcel requested to be rezoned for jail.

Bloomington plan commissioner Brad Wisler (Nov. 14, 2022).

Monroe County commissioner Julie Thomas (Nov. 14, 2022)

Bloomington plan commissioner (Nov. 14, 2022).

Monroe County attorney Jeff Cockerill (Nov. 14, 2022)

The aerial image, dated April 2020, is from the Pictometry module of Monroe County’s online property lookup system.

The Monroe County government’s planned construction of a new jail on an 87-acre parcel in the southwest corner of Bloomington hit a snag on Monday night.

By a 6–3 vote, Bloomington’s plan commission supported the planning staff’s recommendation to send a negative recommendation to the city council about Monroe County government’s request for a rezone of the 87 acres, so that a jail could be built there.

The county government’s request would change the zoning of the land from mixed-use employment (ME) to mixed-use institutional (MI). Use of the property as a jail would not be allowed under ME, but could be allowed under MI.

A jail is a “conditional use” under MI zoning.

That means even if the city council were to approve the rezone, Monroe County government would still have to go through the conditional use approval process in front of the city’s board of zoning appeals.

On Monday, a staff attorney for the county, Jeff Cockerill, told the plan commission that Monroe County had a purchase agreement for the land, contingent on approval of a rezone—but that agreement expires at the end of the year.

After this Wednesday, the city council’s calendar for the rest of the year has two more regular meetings.

There’s now a 10-day timeframe for planning director Scott Robinson to certify the outcome of the plan commission’s Monday recommendation to the city clerk. That would set up Monroe County government with enough time to hit the deadline for submission of the materials to the city council office for the council’s Dec. 7 meeting, when the rezone could get a first reading.

That could set the table for the city council to approve the rezone, when it would get a second reading at the council’s final meeting of the year on Dec. 21. Continue reading “Negative stamp on rezone for jail by Bloomington plan commission, could still win city council’s OK” →

First rezone hearing for potential new jail highlights employment center versus institutional use

Parcel requested to be rezoned for jail.

Monroe County board of commissioners president Julie Thomas addresses the Bloomington plan commission (Oct. 10, 2022)

On Monday, a lot of ground got covered at the Bloomington plan commission’s first hearing about a rezone request from Monroe County government.

The rezone is needed if a new jail is to be built in the southwest corner of the city.

But one topic emerged as a big concern for plan commissioners: Should they depart from the “employment center” designation for the area that is reflected in the city’s comprehensive plan?

The current mixed-use employment (ME) zoning for the 87-acre parcel squares up perfectly with the comprehensive plan’s designation. The county’s request would change the zoning of the land from mixed-use employment (ME) to mixed-use institutional (MI). Use of the property as a jail would not be allowed under ME, but could be allowed under MI. A jail is a “conditional use” under MI zoning.

President of the plan commission, Brad Wisler, put it like this: “A large chunk of our employment in Bloomington comes from those uses that the ME zone is designed for.” Wisler added, “If you look at things like Cook, Catalent, et cetera, if we ever want to attract another one of those types of employers, this seems like a prime spot for it.”

The second hearing in front of the plan commission is set for Nov. 14. The plan commission’s recommendation will feed into the Bloomington city council’s decision on the rezone. Continue reading “First rezone hearing for potential new jail highlights employment center versus institutional use” →

Rezone request for potential county jail property to be heard by Bloomington plan commission

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Parcel requested to be rezoned for jail.

Should an 87-acre parcel in the southwest corner of Bloomington be rezoned so that a new Monroe County jail can be built there?

That’s the question that Bloomington plan commissioners will start tackling at their regular meeting on Monday (Oct. 10).

Instead of voting at that meeting on the rezone request from Monroe County, city plan commissioners will likely move the matter to a second hearing to be held at their November meeting.

The county’s request would change the zoning of the land from mixed-use employment (ME) to mixed-use institutional (MI). Use of the property as a jail would not be allowed under ME, but could be under MI. A jail is a “conditional use” under MI zoning.

Monroe County has made an offer to purchase the property for about $10 million. But that offer is contingent on an eventual rezone, approved by the city council.

The plan commission’s recommendation on the rezone, for or against, will be a big factor eventually considered by city councilmembers when the request comes before them. Continue reading “Rezone request for potential county jail property to be heard by Bloomington plan commission” →

OK’d by Bloomington city council: Wheeler Mission rezone for program expansion, not bed number increase

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On a unanimous vote Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council approved a rezone for a property owned by Wheeler Mission, so that its shelter beds can be shifted to a parcel that the nonprofit acquired in May of this year.

In zoning district terms, the rezone is from mixed-use employment (ME) to mixed-use medium scale (MM).

Wheeler Mission’s plan is not to increase its number of shelter beds beyond 130, but to expand its programs on life skills training, financial management and job readiness.

During the council’s Wednesday meeting, no public commentary was offered.

When the rezone request was heard by the plan commission and during the council’s committee meeting surrounding business owners described the impact they’ve seen from the behavior of some Wheeler Mission shelter guests.

In supporting the rezone request, councilmembers distinguished between the unacceptable behaviors exhibited by some of the shelter guests and the rezone request. Continue reading “OK’d by Bloomington city council: Wheeler Mission rezone for program expansion, not bed number increase” →

87-acre site once mulled as new home for ST Semiconductor may get negotiated rezoning by Bloomington city council

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Parcel requested to be rezoned for jail.

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” →