Massive Bloomington housing project snags plan commission approval
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A planned 4,250-unit Bloomington housing development banked a key approval, moving developers one step closer to breaking ground on one of the city’s largest housing projects ever.
The Bloomington Plan Commission unanimously approved rezoning nearly 140 acres and the developer’s preliminary plan March 19. After four readings in front of the commission, the proposal will now move to the Bloomington Common Council for a final vote.
If approved, developers Sudbury Partners LLC and Sullivan Development, both based in Carmel, would construct five new neighborhoods with multiple housing types, including single-family homes, apartments and “missing middle housing,” meaning duplexes, condos and townhouses. The project plans are pared down from the ambitious initial proposal, which sought to build up to 6,000 units.
The development, called the “Summit District,” would also include open and commercial space, meaning there is potential for outside community gathering areas as well as new businesses and restaurants. Additionally, developers said they plan for the area to be walkable.
“We’re setting aside over 38% of the site in open space and green space and protection area,” Sullivan Development’s Travis Vencel said at the meeting. “We’ve got diversity of types of land uses and diversity of housing to really meet the needs of the community.”
The lot is part of a larger, older Planned Unit Development district from 1999, which is a flexible but tailored zoning designation the city uses to give developers the ability to create innovative commercial and housing solutions. Existing neighborhoods and apartment buildings were built years and decades ago in the district located along Weimer Road off Second Street, but the proposed property is largely untouched and was purchased for $13.2 million last year.
Yes, but…
The plan commission approval came with strings attached that the developer agreed to follow.
The developers must abide by 10 conditions including specific building requirements, off-site infrastructure improvements as well as the completion of a set of calculations and a karst study.
“We approve and agree with all of them,” Vencel said. “We really think that we have a great project and these recommendations just clarify and solidify how good of a project this is for Bloomington.”
The council can decide to further limit the project’s scope like including a cap on the number of units permitted.
Sullivan Development’s Travis Vencel talks briefly about the project and how they agree with the city’s conditions.
Public support and environmental hurdles
Neighbors, including the Arbor Ridge Homeowners Association next to the development, voiced their concerns at the meeting and in letters regarding flooding issues, traffic congestion, environmentally sensitive terrain and neighborhood character and aesthetic changes. Public comment spanned about 50 minutes.
“I support the development of affordable housing. That’s not my issue at all,” said Ted Frick, a resident who’s lived on Weimer Road since 1977. “My issue is the impact of the increased numbers of units and people coming in that are being proposed.”
However, support was fielded by a group of residents and organizations including the United Way of Monroe County, the Bloomington Economic Development Corp., the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County.
“Your consideration of this proposed PUD comes at a critical time and as the need for housing units of all types currently exceeds our community’s willingness to work collaboratively to encourage development of those units,” said Wendi Goodlett, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County president and CEO, during comment.
Residents have felt the pinch of the city’s shortage of affordable housing inventory. Bloomington is one of the most expensive cities to rent statewide, and a new Regional Opportunity Initiatives housing study estimates it will need to build 4,155 units over the next decade.