Wood Hill Towers in Bloomington will soon have a new name, honoring a longtime champion for public housing in the Twin Cities.
The apartment complex south of Downtown Bloomington is being renamed the Holman-Short Towers, dedicated to former Bloomington Housing Authority Executive Director Kim Holman-Short's four-decade career with the agency.
Holman-Short was the guest of honor Thursday during a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony with remarks from city officials and the McLean County Chamber of Commerce.
Current BHA Executive Director Jeremy Hayes said Holman-Short is a shining example of public service to the community.
“Everything that I know about this business, I learned from Kim,” he said during remarks in a community room nestled between the two 13-story towers in the complex. “Kim’s remarkable career demonstrated three specific qualities: …persistence, stability and most importantly, compassion.”
The Housing Authority manages about 600 public housing units in the Twin Cities, plus several federally funded programs assisting people with affordable housing. The newly named Holman-Short Towers, located at 104 E. Wood Street and 101 E. MacArthur Avenue, contain apartments for low-income families and seniors, including those with Section 8 vouchers.
The complex, built in 1971, has recently undergone significant renovations, including elevator modernization, a new emergency generator and upgraded fire alarms and doors. The $3 million worth of upgrades were made possible through a federal grant.
“But more to the point of today’s gathering, it takes more than just money to provide public services,” Hayes said. “It takes people on the ground, day after day and year after year, to ensure places like these towers will be an asset to the entire community for generations to come.”
Commissioner Betty Middleton spoke on behalf of the Bloomington Housing Authority board, noting Holman-Short’s brief return to BHA after retiring in 2018 to “get things back in order” and help smooth a leadership transition after Hayes left the organization in 2024. He returned to the role 15 months later.
“As a token of appreciation, we would like to give you your flowers now,” Middleton said.
More than brick and mortar
Holman-Short, who was also celebrating her birthday on Thursday, said she’s “still taking all of this in.
“It was not expected as I worked at the Housing Authority — nothing that I sought to receive,” she said. “But the honor in itself means I’ve been able to accomplish many things for the residents of the Housing Authority. It’s something that I hope my family will also appreciate. It’s a legacy that I’m gifting to them and to the community.”
Holman-Short is a 1974 graduate of Illinois State University who chose to stay in Bloomington-Normal, apart from a brief move to another city before returning in 1996.
Holman-Short said public service is “in the blood.” Her father and grandfather were both active in housing authorities.
“I like serving people,” she said. “This opportunity allowed me to do that.”
As she drives past the buildings that will now bear her name, Holman-Short said she sees the complex as “more than brick and mortar.
“I see a vision that became reality through hard work, dedication and the efforts of many people working together,” she said. “I think about the many families who walked through these doors searching for stability, opportunity and hope.”
That includes her own. Holman-Short shared that she and her family lived at Wood Hill Towers for six months when she returned to Bloomington-Normal in 1996 to lead the Bloomington Housing Authority.
“I was needed sooner than I could find housing,” she said. “So, I was an unhoused household. …My family gained a better understanding of the work that occurred here.”
