Redevelopment of one of Bloomington’s most prominent downtown buildings will occur in phases, with the initial phase beginning in July and targeted for completion by the middle of next year.
The Bloomington City Council on Monday approved revisions to an existing agreement with UEP Bloomington on a $68 million project to convert the former State Farm office building along East Street into a mixed-use residential and commercial center called “G.J. Lofts.”
“As is the case with projects of this size and scope, they sometimes change over time. Financial markets change, constructions costs change, etc, etc.,” Senior Deputy Assistant City Manager Billy Tyus told the council during the 95-minute meeting.
Tyus said the city was contacted earlier this year by UEP Bloomington, an extension of Rockford-based Urban Equity Properties, about the possibility of adjusting the timeline “to phase the project versus doing it all at once.”
The $42 million first portion of phase one will see construction of 57 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, along with ground floor commercial space that would include a Starbucks coffee shop.
“I received some concerns over the Starbucks, and while I'm very pro local business and pro, obviously, our downtown local shops, we’re not voting on whether or not Starbucks is going in there,” said council member Cody Hendricks.
“We voted [previously on language that said that there would be three food-type retailers and commercial retail on the first floor. The developer gets to ultimately decide that.”
The 1A-phase would also include construction of a top-floor destination restaurant and infrastructure to support the entire scope of the project. A $2 million “Phase 1B” would focus on rehabilitation of the Plaza Park garage on Jefferson Street that was purchased by the developers.
“They're going to be rehabbing that garage, putting in new parking, but also would have to provide public parking on the ground level,” said Tyus.
Developers hope to obtain temporary certificates of occupancy by August of next year and have the commercial space leased by December 2027.
Tyus said the $27 million second phase of the redevelopment, featuring approximately 126 apartments, a food hall and additional retail and restaurant space, would start “roughly four months” after Phase 1 is completed. The entire project aims for completion by October 2028.
Part of the restructured agreement involves a potential “bridge” loan of $600,000 from the city to UEP Bloomington – if the developers do not get historic tax credits they intend to seek.
“They have a lot of experience with obtaining those credits; they are confident that they will receive them, but it would be a bridge loan for four months,” said Tyus. “If they do get the tax credits, then the loans would not be given.”
Website, digital service modernization
The council also voted unanimously, with one absence [Abby Scott], in approving a three-year, $637,600 contract with Granicus to update the city’s web presence and digital services, replacing aging and fragmented infrastructure that is being phased out.
“It’s much more than a website redesign. It is a combining of our digital ecosystem into one system that is more efficient, more user friendly,” said Tyus. “It is going to allow people to get to information across our websites more quickly and easily.”
Mark Owens, the city’s interim Information Technologies Assistant Director, said the new agreement helps the city comply with updated Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA] regulations requiring larger municipalities to ensure full accessibility across all digital forms.
“Over the past year, city staff has made substantial efforts to align existing systems with these new accessibility standards, implementing in as many improvements as possible within the constraints of our current platform. However, these efforts are inherently limited by the underlying technology that we have today,” said Owens.
Other business
Following the regular public comment portion, the city held its required public hearing on the proposed $370.5 million budget, featuring $112 million in spending on capital projects. No residents chose to testify. A formal council vote on the spending plan is expected on April 13, ahead of the May 1 start of the fiscal year.
Additional actions approved as part of 14-item consent agenda include:
- amending the intergovernmental shared sales tax agreement with McLean County and the Town of Normal, temporarily suspending revenue payments for three months as the three bodies continue to examine how to spend money raised for mental health and public safety purposes;
- spending close to $85,000 fore software and firewall protection service from Scientel Solutions to replace aging devices in the IT Department;
- a three-year agreement with Placer Labs for analytics services to track consumer visits to city-owned venues such as Grossinger Motors Arena, the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, and Miller Park Zoo;
- a real estate purchase of $42,000 for property at 808 E. Lincoln Street in preparation for the East Street Detention Basin and Sewer project;
- ordinances accepting final plats of properties included in the Interstate Center Subdivision and the Empire Business Park;
- and, city code amendments updating terminology regarding persons with disabilities and accessible parking.
Finance director Scott Rathbun presented his financial report as of the end of February, showing that year-to-date home rule sales tax revenue has come in at $3.9 million over the expected amount in the city budget.
Two mayoral proclamations at the start of the meeting recognized Community Development Week [April 6-10] and Eid al-Fitr Day, an Islamic festival marking the end of fasting during Ramadan that was observed March 20. The latter recognition had been deferred from the March 9 meeting.
Tyus, filling in with City Manager Jeff Jurgens absent, reported the severe drought designation covering Bloomington has been lifted, but added the city is still in a drought phase and encouraged residents to conserve water.
