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Changes likely for Trail East and West proposals in Uptown Normal

A conceptual rendering of the proposed Trail East (right) and Trail West mixed-use buildings on the north end of Uptown Normal.
Eagle View Partners / Farnsworth Group
/
Town of Normal
A conceptual rendering of the proposed Trail East, right, and Trail West, left — mixed-use buildings on the north end of Uptown Normal.

There are changes coming in plans for two large, mixed-use buildings on Uptown Circle in Normal.

"We're in active discussions with two developers looking to do trail side east and trail side west," said Mayor Chris Koos.

The proposal approved a year ago from Eagle View Partners, based in Cedar Falls, Iowa, was for five- or six-story buildings — a 198,400-square-foot footprint with an $50 million to $60 million estimated price tag.

It included office space for Afni, the engineering firm Farnsworth, and another unnamed tech-sector business. There also were upscale apartment units planned, more than initially envisioned before the pandemic.

Bloomington-Normal needs more housing, due in part to the thousands of jobs rapidly added by electric automaker Rivian. Home inventory is low, home prices are rising, and rentals are scarce. Young professionals ages 26-30 are the intended market, along with baby boomers wanting to downsize.

Town officials had hoped to seal the development agreement with Eagle View last summer, but those hopes foundered on the obstacle of rising interest rates. Prices for construction materials contributed to the difficulty in presenting a final concept and designs for the buildings.

Koos said he doesn't think the additional developer creates a need to re-issue the town's Request for Proposal.

"Probably not because we are still dealing with the same people we dealt with in the original RFP," said Koos.

He declined to identify the additional developer, or say whether all the original partners in the Eagle View proposal remain, citing ongoing negotiations.

Koos said both structures will remain mixed use, but the portions allocated to apartments and to business office space may continue to change.

"I would say it has morphed in the sense it will be a small amount of commercial and quite a bit of residential," said Koos, adding it's not clear what the final proposal will look like.

The addition of a developer also could affect the timetable for construction. The town council would still have to approve development agreements that specify incentives for the developers before the projects could move ahead.

WGLT Senior Reporter Charlie Schlenker has spent more than three award-winning decades in radio. He lives in Normal with his family.
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