“Where am I supposed to get pancakes in the meantime?”
That was Bloomington plan commission president Brad Wisler’s lighthearted question to Village Deli owner Bob Costello, at the commission’s regular meeting on Monday.
Wisler’s “meantime” is the period between the upcoming demolition of the one-story Village Deli building on Kirkwood Avenue and the re-opening of the breakfast joint on the ground floor of a new four-story residential project at the same spot.
Wisler and other plan commissioners had just heard a presentation on the proposal, which would build 25 apartments with a total of 29 bedrooms—11 studios, 11 1-bedroom, two 2-bedroom, and one 3-bedroom apartment.
The ground floor will include a 12-stall parking garage for the residential tenants, who will access it off the rear alley. The ground floor will also have 2,700 square feet of restaurant space, which will be the Village Deli’s new home.
Based on the preview of the project given at a mid-June plan commission lunch session, a possible timeline for completion of the project is August 2023.
All other things being equal, that would have meant about a year-long Village Deli pancake void.
But Costello gave Wisler some welcome news: “Our current plan would be to relocate the Village Deli in another location. So we could continue to provide your delicious pancakes, Brad, and continue to employ the staff that we have, that make our business work every day!”
The project was not controversial for plan commissioners, who gave it unanimous approval. Continue reading “Village Deli gets OK from Bloomington: 4-stack residential, pancakes still on ground floor”
