On Friday, a B Square visit to Bloomington’s Switchyard Park to investigate possible evidence of beavers did not confirm that any of the busy, broad-tailed rodents had taken up residence there. But a red-tailed hawk was hunting from a series of alternating perches—on the main stage, a nearby lamp post and a tree near the bridge that leads to Walnut Street. Continue reading “Photos: Red-tailed hawk at Switchyard Park”
On Saturday, Switchyard Park served as the venue for the city of Bloomington’s annual Black y Brown Arts Festival. It’s described on the city of Bloomington’s website as “a celebration and showcase of African, African-American, Hispanic, Latinx, and Native American creative arts and artists…”
The quote in the headline is from a spoken-word performance delivered by PDVNCH, which he crafted for the occasion of this year’s festival. The two stages—one outside and the other inside the pavilion—also featured music and dance.
More photos below.
Continue reading “Photos | Black y Brown Arts Festival 2022: “There are so many shades under the sun. We see black y brown when we gaze in the mirror, bruh. “”
In a Thursday afternoon news release, Bloomington police department (BPD) reported that a 39-year-old man found with gunshot wounds in Switchyard Park early in the morning had not been shot at that location.
The 39-year-old had apparently driven there after being shot several times when he allegedly attempted a burglary—at the home of another man he knew, about a mile away, southeast of the intersection of Hillside Drive and Henderson Street. Continue reading “Man who was shot, drove a mile to Switchyard Park, had apparently tried to burglarize residence”
In 2022, unarmed officers employed by Marshall Security will continue to patrol Switchyard Park overnight, as well as through the day in a half dozen more parks in Bloomington.
The $278,821 contract with Marshall, which runs through the end of 2022, was approved by the four-member board of park commissioners at its regular meeting on Tuesday night.
In June last year, the board had approved overnight patrols for Switchyard, as a response to increased incidents of vandalism. In July, daytime patrols for the other parks were approved. A contract to bridge from the end of 2021 through the end of January was approved by the board in mid-December.
Based on the number of reports filed by Marshall officers, the number of incidents in the areas patrolled decreased significantly, starting in July: July (126); August (99); September (38); October (28); and November (5).
Other parks covered in the contract besides Switchyard include: RCA Park, Seminary Park, B-Line Trail, Building Trades Park, Rev. Ernest D. Butler Park, Crestmont Park, Miller-Showers Park, and Waldron Hill Buskirk Park.
At Tuesday’s meeting, board members had questions about the source of funds and expressed concerns about the amount. Continue reading “$279K for private security patrols in public parks OK’d by Bloomington”
At its meeting last week, Bloomington’s board of park commissioners approved what city staff called a stopgap contract with Marshall Security, extending the current arrangement covering Switchyard Park through January 2022.
The contract extension approved on Tuesday last week is for $7,161. The source of the money is the parks general fund, according to the board’s meeting information packet.
According to parks staff, the number of incidents occurring in Switchyard Park has decreased since the start of the private security patrols in summer 2021.
It was in June this year when the board approved a $60,588 contract for overnight security patrols by Marshall in Switchyard Park through the end of 2021. Continue reading “Private security checks in Bloomington park OK’d through January pending new, broader contract”
Towards dusk on Tuesday, visible progress was being made on the installation of “Urban Fabric,” a piece of public art that will wrap the new 4th Street parking garage in downtown Bloomington.
The public artwork for another recently completed city parking garage, located in the Trades District just north of city hall, will get a formal dedication this Friday.
Adding to public art activity in Bloomington in recent weeks was the dedication of “North Star/Hoosier Line” on Friday two weeks ago. It was installed on the east and west walls of the restrooms, north of the splash pad across the B-Line from the pavilion.
A 64-unit affordable housing project to built as a 5-story building on South Walnut Street got its site plan approved by Bloomington’s plan commission on Monday night.
Called Retreat at Switchyard, the project will include 116 total bedrooms.
The 1.5-acre site is at the east entrance of the city’s new 64-acre Switchyard Park, home of the former Night Moves building, which will be demolished.
The project does not need an additional approval by the city council, because it meets the requirements of the city’s unified development ordinance (UDO) and does not require a change to the existing mixed-use corridor zoning.
The building is allowed to exceed the standard four-story limit for the mixed-use corridor zoning district, because it meets the “Tier 2” affordable housing incentives in the UDO.
Continue reading “64-unit housing site plan near park OK’d by Bloomington plan commission”
Private unarmed security patrols will now be checking a total of eight parks in Bloomington, a collection that extends a bit farther, north-to-south, than the extent of the B-Line Trail.
The $52,500 contract addendum with Marshall Security, to cover the additional parks, was approved by Bloomington’s board of park commissioners at its Tuesday afternoon meeting.
That brings the total amount of the contract with Marshall to $113,000. The money is being drawn from CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act funds.
At their June meeting, park commissioners approved the initial $60,588 contract, which included just Switchyard Park, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day of the week. The reason given for the Switchyard Park security was an increase in after-hours vandalism and substance use, and overnight camping.
For the additional parks and the trail, the additional private security is needed because of “a number of incidents that have occurred lately on both the B-Line trail and in several other…core corridor parks around the downtown area,” according to Tim Street, who’s operations and development division director for Bloomington parks and recreation.
The list of parks to be patrolled by Marshall is now: Switchyard Park, RCA Park, Seminary Park, B-Line Trail, Building Trades Park, Rev Ernest D. Butler Park, Crestmont Park, Miller-Showers Park, and Waldron Hill Buskirk Park. Continue reading “Bloomington expands private security to 7 more parks across city, including B-Line Trail”
Two-person unarmed teams from Marshall Security will now be performing patrols in Bloomington’s 65-acre Switchyard Park from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day of the week.
A contract with the private security firm was approved by Bloomington’s board of park commissioners at its regular Wednesday meeting.
The hourly rate per security officer is $16.50. The initial contract calls for a $60,588 limit on invoiced expenses from Marshall.
Switchyard Park general manager Hsiung Marler told the four-member board of park commissioners that the security officers from Marshall would be wearing body cameras. They’ll be driving small vehicles suitable for travel on the B-Line Trail and the paths inside the park.
There are some spots inside the park where the Marshall employees will need to get out of the vehicle to make their required rounds, Marler said.
According to parks and recreation staff, the reasons for putting an increased security presence in the park include an increase in after-hours vandalism and substance use, and overnight camping.
Also part of the mix, according to Bloomington’s director of parks and recreation, Paula McDevitt, is the fact that this year is the new park’s first season of full operations. Last year would have counted a partial year anyway, even without the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The issues with increased vandalism “bubbled to the top pretty quickly,” according to McDevitt. Continue reading “Bloomington’s Switchyard Park to get night patrols by private security firm”
By December 2022, Bloomington is expecting to see completed construction of Retreat at the Switchyard, a new housing project with 48 apartments designated as affordable.
The project is a 64-unit, 5-story building with first-floor retail space at the 1.5- acre site of the former Night Moves building on South Walnut Street, next to the new Switchyard Park.
To help the project along, Bloomington’s city council will be considering a resolution at its regular meeting on Wednesday that will take the required steps to give the project a tax abatement.
The resolution would set up the relevant parcels as an economic revitalization area and would approve a 10-year abatement schedule that would waive a total of $154,370 in taxes.
The first year’s abatement would be 100 percent of the taxes owed. That percent would ratchet down over a decade, so that $175,690 in taxes will have been paid by the end of the abatement period.
Next steps, after Wednesday’s expected council action to adopt the resolution, include a public hearing that’s set for June 16. The June 16 hearing will be followed by a city council vote to confirm, amend, or rescind the resolution adopted on June 2.
Another step, before construction can start in August on Retreat at the Switchyard, is a site plan review by the city plan commission.
Also at Wednesday’s city council meeting, a report will be heard on compliance for eight other tax abatements previously granted by the city council. Continue reading “Tax abatement for affordable housing project next to new park to be weighed by Bloomington city council”