Public works notebook: Sole $13M bid on Hopewell infra rejected, 4 maintenance of traffic plans OK’d

General project area for Phase 1 East of the Hopewell redevelopment project.

Looking west, the newly repainted temporary crosswalk across Dunn Street at 14th Street (Jan. 31, 2023).

Looking north along Rogers Street where trees have been removed to prepare for the installation of new transmission lines. (Jan. 30, 2023)

Maintenance of traffic plan for The Standard annotated by the B Square with an arrow to the temporary crosswalk.

Map of Duke Energy project scope.

MOT for Phase 1 East Hopewell project.

Bloomington’s three-member board of public works voted at its regular Tuesday meeting to reject the sole bid for a major infrastructure project at the site of the former IU Health hospital, now known as the Hopewell neighborhood.

The $13.5 million bid, from Milestone Contractors, was about 30 percent higher than the engineer’s estimate.

The area for the project is bounded by 2nd Street to the north, 1st Street to the south, The B-Line Trail to the east, and Rogers Street to the west. It’s called Phase 1 East in the master plan for the development of the site.

The demolition phase for Phase 1 East is complete. The rejected bid was for installing utilities, constructing streets, landscaping and bicycle-pedestrian facilities.

The project will now be re-bid, after the city’s staff reviews the package for items that could be modified or deleted from the current plan. “When we re-bid it, hopefully there would be a reduction in the cost there,” said engineering department project manager Matt Smethurst at the board’s Monday work session. Continue reading “Public works notebook: Sole $13M bid on Hopewell infra rejected, 4 maintenance of traffic plans OK’d” →

Lack of compliance with traffic plan: $25K in fines on student housing developer upheld by Bloomington

14th Street looking east. (Jan. 31, 2022)

Looking east at 14th and Dunn streets. (Jan. 31, 2022)

Looking northwest at 14th and Dunn streets. (Jan. 31, 2022)

The Standard under construction just south of 14th Street. (Jan. 31, 2022)

Sidewalk on the south side of 14th Street, looking east. (Jan. 31, 2022)

At its regular Tuesday meeting, Bloomington’s three-member board of public works upheld about $25,000 in fines on Landmark Properties.

The developer is constructing a 1000-bed student-oriented housing development a few blocks south of Indiana University’s football stadium.

Landmark had appealed the fines, which were imposed for violations of its maintenance of traffic plan. That’s a plan that the city requires all developers to submit and follow in the course of construction. It includes signage and barricades for pedestrian walkways when sidewalks are closed, with directions to an alternate route.

The photos accompanying this article were taken on Jan. 31, 2022, and show what appear to be conditions that have now been put in compliance with the maintenance of traffic plan. Continue reading “Lack of compliance with traffic plan: $25K in fines on student housing developer upheld by Bloomington” →

Bloomington OKs 1,000-bed student development south of football stadium

This rendering shows the view of The Standard from the northwest.

After getting the required rezone approval from Bloomington’s city council in mid-December, the site plan for a three-building 1,061-bed student-oriented housing project got unanimous approval on Monday night from the city’s plan commission.

Called The Standard at Bloomington, the project is located a few blocks south of Indiana University’s football stadium, and will extend from Dunn Street a couple of blocks west along 14th Street. It’s the current location of Brownstone Terrace, also a student-oriented apartment complex. Brownstone Terrace will be demolished to make way for The Standard.

Given Brownstone Terrace’s 232 bedrooms, the project will net 829 additional bedrooms for the city’s student housing supply.

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Continue reading “Bloomington OKs 1,000-bed student development south of football stadium” →

Bloomington city council OKs rezoning to make way for bigger student housing project

Aerial view from Monroe County GIS system of the Brownstone Terrace in spring 2020.

On Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council cleared the way for a new 1,072-bedroom residential project a few blocks south of Indiana University’s football stadium.

It would allow for the replacement of the predominantly student-rented Brownstone Terrace with an even larger student-oriented development called The Standard. Brownstone Terrace consists of two-story buildings with a total of 120 apartments. The Standard would include 433 apartments in five- and six-story buildings and a parking garage with 681 spaces.

What the city council did on Wednesday night was approve a rezoning request, from planned unit development (PUD) to a new zoning classification in the recently adopted unified development ordinance (UDO), which is mixed-use student housing (MS).

The rezoning had been recommended by Bloomington’s plan commission on a unanimous vote. Now that the city council has approved the zoning, the site plan can go in front of the plan commission for approval.

Based on the timeline provided by the developer, Landmark Properties, the major site plan review will be submitted before the end of the year and could be in front of the plan commission in January or February. From March to July, a grading permit review will be sought, with construction slated to start in July 2021. The project is expected to be complete by August 2023.

The tally on the city council on Wednesday night was 8–1, with dissent from Steve Volan, who cited some benefits to the project before voting against it. “It’s definitely going to have an effect on the demand for housing in single-family neighborhoods that I think non-student residents are going to appreciate,” Volan said. Continue reading “Bloomington city council OKs rezoning to make way for bigger student housing project” →

Rezone for replacement of Brownstone Terrace gets plan commission recommendation, now goes to Bloomington city council

On Monday night, a project that would replace the predominantly student-rented Brownstone Terrace with a larger student-oriented development called The Standard got a unanimous recommendation of approval from Bloomington’s plan commission.

The specific request was for a rezoning. That’s why it now requires approval by Bloomington’s city council.

The rezoning request is from planned unit development (PUD) to a new zoning classification in the recently adopted unified development ordinance (UDO), which is multi-use student housing (MS).

The Standard would demolish several two-story buildings with a total of 120 apartments. The PUD zoning for the current project was approved by the plan commission in 1984.

In place of the current development, The Standard would build a new student-oriented, residential development with 433 apartments and 1,072 bedrooms in five- and six-story buildings. A parking garage with 681 parking spaces would be built as a part of the development. The project would fit within the zoning specifications of the requested MS zoning. Continue reading “Rezone for replacement of Brownstone Terrace gets plan commission recommendation, now goes to Bloomington city council” →

Bloomington plan commission gives rezoning for student housing a standard second hearing

A commonly known connection between Bloomington, Indiana, and Athens, Georgia is based on the 1979 movie “Breaking Away.” The film was shot in Bloomington, where both the movie and short-lived TV series were set. The TV series was shot in Athens.

A second connection between the two small cities was highlighted at Monday night’s meeting of Bloomington’s plan commission. The new property developer for the predominantly student-rented Brownstone Terrace, who wants to demolish the complex and build a new, bigger student-oriented housing in its place, is Landmark Properties, based in Athens.

Landmark Properties develops student housing under its brand, “The Standard.” The owner’s name on the property records is The Standard at Bloomington.

On Monday night, plan commissioners got a formal introduction to the request from The Standard to rezone the property from planned unit development (PUD) to a new zoning classification in the recently adopted unified development ordinance (UDO), which is multi-use student housing (MS).

The plan commission’s reaction to the proposal seemed neutral to somewhat favorable. After giving the request less than an hour of deliberations, no action was taken except to move the rezoning request along to a second hearing. That was planning staff’s recommendation.

The second hearing will take place at the plan commission’s regular second-Monday monthly meeting on Oct. 12. The question in front of the plan commission is whether to grant the rezoning request, not to approve the site plan—even if some the presentation includes the kind of detailed renderings often associated with site plan presentations.

The Standard would demolish several two-story buildings with a total of 120 apartments. The PUD zoning for the current project was approved by the plan commission in 1984, five years after “Breaking Away” first appeared in theaters.

In place of the current development, The Standard would build a new student-oriented, residential development with 433 apartments and 1,072 bedrooms in five- and six-story buildings. A parking garage with 681 parking spaces would be built as a part of the development. The project would fit within the zoning specifications of the requested MS zoning. Continue reading “Bloomington plan commission gives rezoning for student housing a standard second hearing” →

Big Bloomington student housing complex south of football stadium could be demolished to make way for bigger student housing complex

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At its regular monthly meeting on Monday, Bloomington’s plan commission will get a first look at a request from The Standard at Bloomington, LLC to rezone the property where Brownstone Terrace now stands, about three blocks southwest of the Indiana University Memorial football stadium.

If the rezoning—from planned unit development (PUD) to multi-use student housing (MS)—is eventually approved, The Standard would demolish several two-story buildings with a total of 120 apartments. In their place, The Standard would build a new student-oriented, residential development with 433 apartments and 1,072 bedrooms in five- and six-story buildings. A parking garage with 681 parking spaces would be built as a part of the development.

According to the plan commission’s meeting information packet, a possible timeline would be to start construction in spring 2022 and finish by summer 2024.

Bloomington’s planning staff conclusion reads in part: “While the project is large, the Department believes that this location is ideal for redevelopment and intensification because of its proximity to the IU campus and the characteristics of its surroundings.” Continue reading “Big Bloomington student housing complex south of football stadium could be demolished to make way for bigger student housing complex” →