Connect Transit is temporarily moving its Downtown Bloomington transfer center to make way for demolition of the Front N Center building across the street.
The agency called it an “unexpected, accelerated” timeline for the demolition in a social media post.
The Connect Transit transfer center will be at Jefferson and Roosevelt streets just west of downtown near First Christian Church.
Managing Director David Braun said the transit agency had to shift quickly after getting word from the city that the area was about to be fenced off.
“I think the demolition is on schedule or even a little behind schedule, but in our perspective, the fencing went up and that really restricted the movement of our passengers,” Braun said.
Bloomington City Manager Jeff Jurgens said he is not aware of when the demolition will start, only that the project is required to be completed by the end of the year.
The city wants to level the site for parking as part of a redevelopment of the entire block in the city’s urban core.
“We hope that going to start to occur quickly. We would love to have that parking in place as soon as possible for the downtown,” Jurgens said.
Braun said it’s not clear how long the alternative transfer site will be in operation.
“We were told six to eight weeks, but we are anticipating 10-plus [weeks],” Braun said.
New transfer center
Meanwhile, planning continues on Connect Transit’s planned transfer center at the current Market Street parking garage on the other end of downtown. Braun said Connect Transit is working to buy the property and hopes bids for construction will go out in early 2026.
“It's slightly delayed from what we are expecting before. We were expecting to be in construction later this year,” said Braun, adding Connect Transit is working with the city to maximize parking at the site, as rising costs likely mean reductions.
“It's our understanding the city does not have the dollars to participate in the project,” said, noting the project includes surface parking only.
Connect Transit has received $18 million in state and federal grants for the project dating back to 2019, but the price tag could be double that.
