DLZ gets initial nod from Monroe County for new jail design, vote 2 weeks away

The final decision has not been made, but DLZ is likely to be the firm that Monroe County uses to master plan and design a new jail facility.

At a Wednesday morning work session, Monroe County commissioners received a brief report from a committee that they created to review three responses to a request for qualifications (RFQ), to master plan and design  a new jail.

DLZ was the company recommended by the committee. The other two responses came from Elavatus and RQRAW.

Monroe County director of facilities Richard Crider delivered the committee’s recommendation to the commissioners. About the three companies who responded, Crider said, “They are all very capable and proficient in what they do. And I believe we all felt like any one of them could provide a facility that meets our needs.”

But it was DLZ that got the committee’s nod: “One firm stood out above the rest and that was DLZ.” Crider added, “DLZ was the unanimous decision of the committee.”

Joining Crider on the RFQ review committee were: David Gardner, ASI Facilities Services contractor; Lee Baker, county attorney; Kyle Gibbons, jail commander; Matt Demmings, assistant jail commander; and Angie Purdie, administrator for the commissioners.

The commissioners do not have a regular meeting scheduled for next week, on March 15. The vote on the choice of DLZ is set for two weeks from now, on March 22. Continue reading “DLZ gets initial nod from Monroe County for new jail design, vote 2 weeks away”

Sale of Showers admin building to investor in Kiln Collective OK’d by Bloomington RDC

The boarded up historic Showers administration building in the Trades District, north of city hall, will be getting at least a partial rehab by its new owner, Eurton Properties.

The conveyance agreement, which calls for Eurton to pay $400,000 for the property, was approved by Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) at its regular Monday evening meeting.

The admin building stands at the corner of Morton and 10th Streets. Continue reading “Sale of Showers admin building to investor in Kiln Collective OK’d by Bloomington RDC”

$9.25M real estate deal pending, could put HQs for Bloomington police, fire in same building as city hall

The view is from the west of the Showers building. The pink outline shows the portion of the building that Bloomington has made an accepted offer to purchase from CFC Properties. The image is from the Pictometry module of Monroe County’s property lookup system.

In a Friday mid-morning news release, the city of Bloomington has announced that it made a $9.25 million offer to purchase the 64,000-square-foot portion of the Showers building that is currently owned by CFC Properties. CFC has accepted the offer, according to the release.

CFC Properties and the city of Bloomington are currently neighbors in the Showers building.

The purchase, which would be made by Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC), still depends on approval from Bloomington’s city council, according to the news release.

The agenda for the RDC’s next meeting is set for July 18.  The city council’s next meeting is scheduled for July 20. As of mid-morning on Friday, the agendas for those meetings have not yet been posted

The Showers building currently has three occupants: Bloomington’s city hall on the eastern half; Monroe County government in the northern part; and CFC Properties on the western side.

According to the news release, Bloomington is looking at consolidating its police and fire headquarters in the additional Showers building space. The police headquarters on 3rd Street was damaged in the June 2021 flood, as was the fire department headquarters on 4th Street. The fire department is currently operating the downtown station out of the  former Bunger & Robertson building at 4th and College, which is four blocks west of the flood-damaged fire station.

According to the city’s news release, the RDC will conduct due diligence on the property, before a purchase is finalized—including environmental assessment, building inspection, remodeling options, land survey, and review of existing leases and contracts. Continue reading “$9.25M real estate deal pending, could put HQs for Bloomington police, fire in same building as city hall”