City Manager Pam Reece

Rising interest rates have blocked the hoped-for start of construction this spring on a flagship development project in Uptown Normal.

Town of Normal Finance Director Andrew Huhn said during a daylong budget workshop for the town council that a lot of the increase will be funded by projected double-digit revenue growth, mainly in sales and income tax receipts.

It could be time to discuss one of the proposals in a 2019 Connect Transit special working group report, says Normal City Manager Pam Reece, because it's an unusual development — an organization asking for less money instead of more.

City Manager Pam Reece said the Vision Zero-Go Safe Plan to eliminate auto collisions with walkers and bikers is one the themes to emerge from a recent strategic planning session.

The Main Street Water Main project is big, more than 5,000 feet in length. Two stretches of Main Street would see pipes replaced — between Division Street and Virginia Avenue, and from Beaufort Street to College Avenue.

Nomal's city manager expects the developer of a controversial addition to the Wintergreen subdivision off Beech Street near Interstate 55 will make changes to satisfy neighborhood objections.

So far this year, the Town of Normal has approved plans for 80 new single-family homes to help address a 4,000-unit housing shortage in Bloomington-Normal. But City Manager Pam Reece said those have all been within existing subdivisions and don't address a lack of upscale apartments — until recently.

The Town of Normal is moving ahead with work on the proposed Trail West and East Project in Uptown even though a development agreement is not yet in place. City Manager Pam Reece said there's a lot to be done to prepare for the start of construction next spring.

The City of Bloomington and Town of Normal have picked a new electricity supplier to serve residents for the next three years (July 2022-June 2025). So-called "aggregator" Constellation NewEnergy replaces Homefield Energy as the new low bidder for bundled power rates.

A total of 102 newly built homes sold in Bloomington-Normal last year. That's $34 million in new property value created in the community to meet demand, according to figures from the Mid-Illinois Association of Realtors. And it's more than twice the amount of new home construction in 2020. Early signs are this year will be even better.