Bloomington seeking proposals for Trades District
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The city of Bloomington this week posted a Notice of Offering seeking proposals for a 5.2-acre plot of land in a subsection of its Certified Technology Park known as the Trades District.
The notice said the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission is seeking developers that set forth plans for the property that “align with and advance the city’s vision for the Trades District.”
Potential uses for the property could include a mix of office and retail space, as well as residential units that meet a workforce housing demand, including owner-occupied units. The notice said such uses “are viewed as an important ingredient for creating a robust hub for technology employers and employees.”
The Trades District covers about 12 acres near the city’s Downtown District and was previously occupied by the former Showers Brothers Furniture Co. Part of the property includes the historic Dimension Mill building, which was transformed into The Mill, a business incubator and coworking space.
Earlier this year, The Mill was tapped to manage the development and marketing of the district.
The 5.2-acre property up for development consists of four tracts of land, and the city said it would entertain proposals for the purchase of some or all of the tracts. The city has set a minimum offering price of nearly $6.2 million for all four tracts. The breakdown of each tract is as follows:
- Tract 1 – $2,550,000
- Tract 2 – $2,050,000
- Tract 3 – $1,020,000
- Tract 4 – $560,000
The RDC noted that it is explicitly not interested in establishing undergraduate student housing on the property.
Bids must be submitted to The Mill by 3 p.m. on July 17. The RDC will hold a public meeting at 4 p.m. that same day to publicly open consider all written offers, though it did not give a specific date for naming a winning bid.
You can connect to the Notice of Offering on the Trades District website by clicking here.
The move is the latest in the growth plans for the Trades District. In April, the Bloomington City Council voted to appropriate $3 million towards funding construction of an $8.5 million technology center, which has also received federal and other local funding.
The 22,00-square-foot tech center is expected to feature office spaces for small- to medium-sized tenants, as well as shared amenities and convening spaces for tenants, local tech companies, and industry-related partners.
Construction is slated to begin this fall and be complete by early 2025.