By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – A proposal to re-develop downtown Bloomington got a cool reception from alderman this week, but city officials said this is only the start of the conversation.
“This proposal was something that the city council didn’t like the risk involved, but that doesn’t mean the conversation is over,” alderman Scott Black said. “I think this is showing Bloomington is open for business and we are willing to have a discussion with developers.
Black told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin, developer Jeff Giebelhausen’s plan to tear down several buildings then sell shovel-ready land back to the city for $8.2 million is a good starting point.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Black on WJBC.
Black said he trusts Giebelhausen’s record as a developer and said he’s the one to get such a project done given his rapport with the property owners, but some alderman felt the plan was short on financial details and needs to include a specific end use rather than leaving the city to find a developer.
“The sense I’m getting at this point is if we had a ‘one-fell-swoop’ package, the developer is going to take the building, make it shovel-ready and then develop it. That’s something we would be more amenable to,” Black said.
He added the city has had lots of interest from developers in taking over the site where the Front ‘N’ Center and Commerce bank buildings sit, but that doesn’t always translate into a financial commitment.
The city council has asked the city manager and staff to bring forth more downtown revitalization ideas in the future.
“Investing in our city’s core is essential to our entire community’s economic vitality,” explained mayor Tari Renner in a news release. “We’ve made significant progress in the Downtown since I became Mayor, from City Council’s approval of the Downtown Bloomington Strategy in 2013 to the opening of the Route 66 Visitors Center at the History Museum just this past spring. Our community has an abundance of opportunity and I look forward to our continued revitalization.”
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
