Bloomington’s city manager said the decision between two development proposals for a long-unused site off Main Street came down to experience.
At its Oct. 26 meeting, Bloomington’s city council voted to move forward on negotiations with Royse and Brinkmeyer on developing 801 and 807 N. Main St. into housing. Royse and Brinkmeyer presented a proposal to the council the week prior, along with one from the Franklin Park Foundation.
The Franklin Park Foundation is a nonprofit founded in 2017 that is dedicated to revitalizing the Franklin Park area, including restoration of the park that is the foundation’s namesake.
FPF President Tim Maurer appeared upset with the council’s intention to pick Royse and Brinkmeyer during public comment ahead of that Oct. 26 vote. Maurer said the foundation had retained legal counsel to advise it on the city’s compliance with tax increment financing law.
During those comments, Maurer requested the record reflects FPF’s objection if the ordinance passed.
During a Thursday interview with WGLT, Bloomington City Manager Jeff Jurgens said he hopes there is no bad blood between the city and FPF.
“I’m sure they’re disappointed, but I hope that they continue to work with the city,” he said.
FPF did have support from union groups for their proposal because they committed to using local union labor for construction.
Council member Mollie Ward got council approval to amend the Oct. 26 negotiation ordinance to direct the city to pursue a project labor agreement with Royse and Brinkmeyer. The firm’s CEO, Colin Carlier, said during his Oct. 19 presentation that the projected cost included an open bid for contractors.
“Any qualified contractor whether union, non-union, prevailing wage that can help us deliver this project, we’d be happy to talk to,” he said during the presentation.
Royse and Brinkmeyer owns more than 1,000 apartments in the Champaign area. Jurgens said that showed they could handle the development.
“That is something I think the council wants to see,” Jurgens said. “It’s not an easy environment to develop in. They want to know that they’ve got a developer that can get through all of the problems, all of the issues, get that project done and then actually manage the project.”
FPF will have an opportunity to present its vision for the property again in the form of a counter proposal.
Jurgens said he liked the FPF’s design and concept and that it may be a better fit in a different location.
“Maybe they can do something like that somewhere else in our community,” he said.
801 and 807 N. Main St. have been owned by the city for about a decade. Neither site generates property tax revenue currently. The property has been folded into the city’s Downtown tax increment financing district, meaning developers could be reimbursed for certain expenses related to development.
About each proposal
Royse and Brinkmeyer proposed 140 to 160 units in some combination of studio, loft, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Catalyst Construction would be the general contractor and Hewn Studio would design the $38.5 million complex.
The presentation to council did not include specific rent rates. Other properties managed by Royse and Brinkmeyer list rents starting at $1,060 a month for a studio apartment, and up to $2,385 a month for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment.
According to a Housing and Urban Development analysis of their proposal, significant portions of the apartment units would fall into the affordability range for people earning 60% to 120% of the Area Median Income [AMI].
The analysis lists the AMI as $118,000 per family. Affordable rent is considered to be 30% of someone’s earnings. For someone earning exactly the AMI, an “affordable rent” would be $2,970 per month.
FPF’s proposal envisioned two six-story buildings with 260 apartments — 40 studios, 110 one-bedroom apartments, 90 two-bedroom apartments, 20 three-bedroom apartments — with 40 listed as “workforce” studio apartments, at rates affordable for those making around the area median income.
FPF estimated the project would cost $62.5 million. Jurgens was doubtful FPF could secure funding and complete the project since it would be the first and only such project undertaken by the organization.
“That is a big project to undertake, and we have seen other developers… that have struggled to get large projects like that underway,” he said.
During the city council's Oct. 19 nonvoting committee of the whole meeting, FPF said it would not be designing or constructing the building, but it would manage it once construction was complete.
More housing still needed
While the project has not broken ground, it adds to a long list of housing developments underway in Bloomington.
Jurgens said there are about 420 units in progress right now. That isn’t enough to solve the city’s housing problem, but it helps.
“I don’t think it’s time to make a victory lap, we’ve got a lot to do,” he said.
He said the city is making good progress on adding more multifamily housing. Development of single-family homes is slower, with around 40 to 50 underway.
“Nobody is out there building 1,000-home subdivisions anymore,” he said, adding that he personally believes the city “isn’t anywhere close,” to having enough homes, but that the city is trending in the right direction.
