At its Nov. 15 meeting, the Bloomington Plan Commission approved the next step in the Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County's Osage Place development. The approval related to 5.34 acres for 30 residential houses and three common areas. The site is located at 650 W. Guy Avenue and is part of a larger 12.5-acre project there.

Construction has already begun and the first houses are expected to be completed by early 2022.

Watch the Plan Commission discussion on CATS here. Read the proposal from the meeting packet here.

At the Bloomington Council's Nov. 3 meeting, John Zody, director of the city's Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) department, gave an update on housing initiatives.

He reported that since 2016, 1,132 units of affordable housing (1,672 bedrooms) have been created in the city. He described a range of city resources, including rental inspections, the housing development fund and plans for the hospital site redevelopment.

Watch the presentation on CATS here. View the presentation's slide deck here.

A revised residential development next to the Johnson Creamery Building received site plan approval at the Oct. 18 Bloomington Plan Commission meeting. 

The residential development will be built in the parking lot north of the Creamery building and south of 8th St. It will include 51 apartments of mostly studio and one-bedroom units, with a few two- and three-bedroom apartments. The ground floor, which can be accessed via the BLine, will include a fitness center and office space.

More details are available in the Plan Commission's meeting packet here. Watch the discussion on CATS here.

At their Oct. 13 meeting, Monroe County Commissioners have approved a scaled-down version of Clear Creek Urban, a mixed-use development at the intersection of South Rogers and That Road. The development will include paired townhomes, multi-family units, and commercial space on land across from the U.S. Post Office.

​The original proposal by Blind Squirrels LLC, led by Tamby Cassady, was a higher density version that commissioners rejected earlier this year.

Read the Clear Creek Urban proposal from the commissioners' meeting packet here. Watch the deliberations on CATS here.

At an Oct. 6 working session, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Commission members discussed the county's approach to increasing the supply of housing. 

Two of the three county commissioners – Penny Githens and Lee Jones – attended. Commission Julie Thomas was absent. AHAC members included Cathi Crabtree (chair), Will Smith (vice chair) and Deborah Myerson.

​Watch the Oct. 6 discussion on CATS here. It will continue at the next Board of Commissioners' working session on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The working session immediately follows their regular meeting, which starts at 10 a.m. via this Zoom link.

The Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Commission has three vacancies. The AHAC makes recommendations to the county Board of Commissioners, which appoints the members.

The commission meets on the third Friday of each month from 8-9 a.m. Meetings are currently held via Zoom. 

Learn more about the AHAC here. Find the application form here.

At their July 21 meeting, Bloomington Council heard a request from the administration to spend a portion of the total $22.1 million that the city will be receiving from the federal American Rescue Act Plan (ARPA). The request for a $3.35 million appropriation breaks down as follows:
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• $250,000 grant to the Bloomington Housing Authority to create more affordable housing options.
• $1.2 million grant to support the ongoing work of the Housing Insecurity Group, to be administered through United Way of Monroe County.
• $200,000 to establish or support a new landlord risk mitigation fund.
• $150,000 to accelerate inclusive job training and employment growth.
• $175,000 for grants to local arts and cultural groups.
• $550,000 to fund essential deferred maintenance at the Waldron Arts Center. 
• $50,000 for a consultant to evaluate the potential for a new downtown performing arts facility. 

Watch the presentation at the July 21 council meeting on CATS here. Read the staff memo here. The council will discuss the appropriation at their July 28 Committee of the Whole meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. via this Zoom link.

United Way of Monroe County, the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, and the South Central Housing Network (SCHN) have released the “Heading Home 2021: A Regional Plan for Making Homelessness Rare, Brief, and Non-Repeating.” This plan is intended serve as a community guide to support long-term initiatives in reducing and eliminating regional housing insecurity and homelessness in Monroe County.

The plan focuses on the Housing First model, a broad philosophy to house people impacted by homelessness as quickly as possible. Having stable housing creates a foundation that better equips households to address the underlying issues that resulted in housing insecurity and/or homelessness. 

Recommendations include creating two full-time positions, housed initially at the United Way, to help implement the plan. Organizers are seeking funding from the City of Bloomington, Monroe County and other sources.

Read the Heading Home 2021 report here.

The City of Bloomington has released survey results showing preferences for how to spend American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that the city is receiving.

Of the 147 responses, priorities were: 36% housing insecurity, 31% public infrastructure, 23% jobs/economic recovery, and 10% city revenue replacement. The choice of these "bucket" categories had already been determined by the city.
Read more about the survey here.