Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
  • Membership
    • Business Directory
    • Become a Member
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Interested in Membership
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Portal & Materials >
      • Member Login
    • Chamber App
    • Connect Bloomington
    • Member Resources
  • Events & News
    • Signature Events >
      • Community Awards Nominations
      • Educator of the Year Nominations
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Sponsorship
    • Member News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Chamber News
  • Initiatives & Resources
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership >
      • BWIL Steering Committee
    • The Success School
    • Young Professionals Bloomington >
      • YPB Steering Committee
    • Business Resources
    • Job Board
    • Community Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Legislative Agenda
    • Local Government
    • Advocacy Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Press & Media
Member Login | Join Us!
Member Login | Join Us!

 Advocacy Matters
Local News & Updates

Residential Development at Former Kmart Site Approved by Plan Commission

7/14/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
A development that will add 340 apartments with a total of 900 bedrooms on the former Kmart site was unanimously approved at the July 12 meeting of the Bloomington Plan Commission. No city council approval is required.

Called the District at Latimer Square, the nearly 12-acre property at 3216 E. 3rd St. is being developed by Trinitas Ventures. The site includes the Bloomingfoods East store, which will remain in place. The plan calls for five residential buildings, one leasing and amenity building, and a 385-space parking structure. Trinitas expects the project will be finished by mid-2023. 

Read materials in the Plan Commission packet here. Watch the July 12 meeting on CATS here.

0 Comments

Bloomington Council Approves Abatement for Retreat at Switchyard

6/17/2021

0 Comments

 
PictureJeff Ryan of Real America
At their June 16 meeting, Bloomington City Council unanimously approved a 10-year abatement for the Retreat at Switchyard, a residential development at 1730 S. Walnut St. 

The development involves construction of 64 residential units. Of those, 48 units will be devoted to households with low to moderate-incomes for a period of 99 years.  Ten of those 48 apartments are set aside for clients of StoneBelt.  The five-story building, adjacent to the Switchyard Park east entrance, includes a 3,000-square-foot first-floor retail space. The abatement, which is applicable only to the 48 affordable units, would start at 100% and step down to 5% in year 10.

The developer is Real America. The city's Redevelopment Commission intends to convey the land and structure to Real America for $1. That's a value of about $975,000, according to Alex Crowley, director of the city's Economic & Sustainable Development department.

Watch the council's June 16 deliberations on CATS here. Read abatement-related materials from the council's meeting packet here.

0 Comments

Bloomington to Require Rental Occupancy Affidavit

6/17/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
On June 16, Bloomington Council approved a new ordinance requiring landlords to sign and maintain an affidavit listing occupants of their rental properties. Tenants must also sign. The law applies to buildings with four or fewer units.

The original proposal, which council amended, was submitted by the city's Housing & Neighborhood Development (HAND) department and would have required the document be turned into the city. It also would have required tenants to disclose their relationship with each other. Questions about privacy issues prompted revision of the ordinance.

The affidavit is intended to help the city track compliance with occupancy limits. Certain zoning districts set a limit of three unrelated adults who can live in a rental unit. Watch the council's June 16 deliberations on CATS here.

0 Comments

Southern Meadows Residential Development Rejected by County Commissioners

6/9/2021

0 Comments

 
PictureRendering of proposed Southern Meadows paired patio homes.
Southern Meadows, a project to add 190 residential units on 37 acres in the Clear Creek area, was rejected by Monroe County Commissioners at their June 9 meeting. Commissioners Julie Thomas and Penny Githens voted against it. Commissioner Lee Jones was absent.

Builder Tom Wininger is already approved to build 90 single-family homes on that lot, but wanted to increase density in order to make each unit more affordable. Among other things, commissioners objected to density in that part of the county.

​Watch the project discussion on CATS here. Click here for meeting materials related to Southern Meadows.

0 Comments

New Rental Occupancy Ordinance Considered by Bloomington Council

6/3/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
An ordinance requiring landlords and tenants to sign annual occupancy affidavits was postponed by Bloomington Council to their June 16 meeting.

​The ordinance, intended to better monitor occupancy for smaller residential rentals, would require disclosure of the relationship between tenants (family or unrelated), as well as contact information and signatures. Non-compliance could result in fines and possible felony charges.

John Zody, director of the city's Housing & Neighborhood Development department, said that the ordinance is a priority for the administration. Mark Figg, president of the Monroe County Apartment Association, expressed concerns and said landlords hadn't been aware that this ordinance was in the works.

Watch the June 2 council deliberations on CATS here. Read the relevant meeting materials here.

0 Comments

County Commissioners Reject Mixed-Use Development on South Rogers

5/12/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
In a unanimous vote at their May 12 meeting, Monroe County Commissioners rejected a proposal for housing and retail on South Rogers, known as Clear Creek Urban. The three commissioners objected to the density of the development and possible traffic congestion, and felt there wasn't enough parking.

"We are the county. We are not the city," Commissioner Julie Thomas said. She wants the developer, Tamby Wikle-Cassady, to bring back a scaled-down version of the project, which included townhomes, apartments and commercial/retail space.

Several people spoke in support of the project, including County Councilor Geoff McKim, County Surveyor Trohn Enright-Randolph, and Cathi Crabtree, chair of the Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Commission. Representatives of the Chamber and the Bloomington Economic Development Corp. spoke about the need for more housing. One person spoke against it.

Click here to watch the Commissioners' discussion on CATS. Click here to view the project packet.

0 Comments

Housing Project for Former Kmart Site Heads to Plan Commission

5/7/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
A multi-family housing project with 906 beds is being proposed by Trinitas Ventures for the former Kmart site at 3216 E. 3rd St. Called the District at Latimer Square, it is on the agenda for the Bloomington Plan Commission's May 10 meeting.

The development would include five residential buildings, one leasing and amenity building, and a 385-space parking structure. Three student-oriented apartments would be built on the site's northern section. Two buildings on the south side would have multi-family housing.

​Click here to visit the project's website. UPDATE: The Plan Commission continued discussion of this project to its June 14 meeting.

0 Comments

City Council Approves Duplexes as a Conditional Use, With Limits

5/7/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Bloomington Council has voted to approve duplexes as a conditional use in core residential zoning districts. The vote on May 6 was unanimous, and followed a May 5 vote that rejected a duplex ban. The Plan Commission had previously recommended that duplexes be a permitted use.

A conditional use requires a hearing in front of the city's Board of Zoning Appeals.

Separately, the council also approved constraints, including an annual cap of 15 duplexes citywide. They also imposed a requirement that within a 150-foot buffer of a property where a conditional use permit has been issued for a duplex, no additional duplexes will be allowed for two years.

Council will continue its discussion of duplexes on May 12, as part of the ongoing update to the city's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).

0 Comments

Conversion of North Walnut Hotel to 85 Apartments OK'd by City Plan Commission

4/12/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Bloomington Plan Commission voted unanimously to approve a project converting the hotel at 1722 N. Walnut to 85 studio apartments. No additional approval is required, and the conversion might be completed by the fall of 2021.

The hotel, currently called America's Best Value Inn, is located just south of the former Motel 6 site, where a new apartment complex is being built.

The Plan Commission's vote occurred at its April 12 meeting.

0 Comments

Bloomington Plan Commission Votes to Support Duplexes By-Right

3/30/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
On a 5-4 vote, the Bloomington Plan Commission supported permitting duplexes in all residential zones. Voting in favor were Flavia Burrell, Chris Cockerham, Jillian Kinzie, Karin St. John and Brad Wisler. Voting against were Beth Cate, Andrew Cibor, Susan Sandberg and Israel Herrera.

Earlier in the meeting, commissioners rejected an amendment that would have prevented duplexes in all residential districts. That vote was 1-8, with support only from Susan Sandberg.

Commissioners also voted 6-3 to remove a requirement that would have prevented more than one duplex built within a 150-foot buffer for a two-year period.
 
The administration/planning staff had recommended duplexes as conditional uses in all residential districts. The recommendation for triplexes and quadplexes is conditional in only R-4, and that remains unchanged at this point.
 
This is part of the city’s UDO update. The next meeting is on Thursday, April 1, at 5:30 p.m. and Beth Cate has indicated that she’ll propose putting a cap on the number of duplexes allowed in each district.
 
After the Plan Commission finishes their updates, this will go to Bloomington Council for final approval. 

Watch the March 29 Plan Commission meeting here. More information about the UDO process is here.

0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>
    Sign Up for our Newsletter
    Categories

    Categories

    All
    Advisory Boards/Commissions
    Affordability
    Annexation
    Arts & Culture
    Awards
    Bloomington Government
    Bloomington IU Relations
    Bloomington-IU Relations
    Bloomington Police
    Broadband
    Budget
    Census
    Chamber Events
    Chamber News
    Civic Engagement
    Climate Change
    Convention Center
    COVID 19 Pandemic
    COVID-19 Pandemic
    Criminal Justice
    Development
    Diversity
    Downtown Bloomington
    Economic Development
    Economic Impact
    Education
    Elections
    Ellettsville
    Emergency Management
    Entrepreneurs
    Environment
    Farmers Market
    Federal Government
    Finance
    Grants
    Historic Preservation
    Homelessness
    Housing
    Indiana University
    Infrastructure
    IN State Government
    IN State Legislature
    Ivy Tech
    Jail
    Judicial
    Law Enforcement
    Low Income Issues
    Major Employers
    Manufacturing
    Minority Business
    Monroe County Circuit Court
    Monroe County Community School Corporation
    Monroe County Government
    Monroe County Public Library
    Networking
    Nonprofits
    Opinion
    Parking
    Parks
    Planning
    Public Art
    Public Health
    Public Policy
    Public Safety
    Quality Of Place
    Quotable Quotes
    Redistricting
    Restaurants
    Richland Bean Blossom Community School Corp.
    Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corp.
    Rural Communities
    Small Business
    Small Business Development Center
    Startups
    Surveys
    Sustainability
    Taxes
    Technology
    TIF (Tax Increment Financing)
    Tourism
    Transportation
    UDO (Unified Development Ordinance)
    Utilities
    Workforce Attraction/Retention
    Workforce Development
    Youth
    Zoning

    Archives

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019

    RSS Feed

    Disclaimer

    This blog post reflects the position of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, with added insights and commentary from the individual contributor. Opinions expressed are informed by the Chamber’s mission but may include personal perspective.

Contact Our Team | Business Directory

Our Chamber

​The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce provides leadership through member engagement, business advocacy and civic partnerships to strengthen our community and business environment.

Main Contact

421 W 6th Street, Suite A | Bloomington, IN 47404
[email protected]
(812) 336-6381

Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 500:pm
Friday: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Trust Center
​
Media Center
Speaking Requests

There is a no refund policy for events.  If you need to reassign your ticket to another person we will be happy to update our attendance list. Thank you.

Chamber Info

About Us
Board of Directors
Contact Our Team

Chamber Resources

Business Directory
Chamber Events Calendar
Member News
Chamber News
Membership Application
Member Login
Business Resources
Picture
Copyright The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. All Rights Reserved.
  • Membership
    • Business Directory
    • Become a Member
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Interested in Membership
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Portal & Materials >
      • Member Login
    • Chamber App
    • Connect Bloomington
    • Member Resources
  • Events & News
    • Signature Events >
      • Community Awards Nominations
      • Educator of the Year Nominations
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Sponsorship
    • Member News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Chamber News
  • Initiatives & Resources
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership >
      • BWIL Steering Committee
    • The Success School
    • Young Professionals Bloomington >
      • YPB Steering Committee
    • Business Resources
    • Job Board
    • Community Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Legislative Agenda
    • Local Government
    • Advocacy Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Press & Media