Construction

Homebuilders put up just 58 single-family homes and duplexes in Bloomington last year — fewer than the 66 built in 2024. City officials hope other actions focusing on existing housing will help ease the community housing shortage.

Bloomington-Normal home sales declined last year, though there are a couple positive signs. The Mid-Illinois Realtors Association said home sales were down 5.9% in 2025.

The work now underway is concentrated in the 600 block of North Main Street, right where it hits East Street as it curves in front of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. The plaza in that area will be reimagined, including a lighted ring hovering above a new outdoor activity/performance space.

G.E. Road in Bloomington is getting resurfaced this summer from Veterans Parkway to Towanda Barnes Road, and construction has already begun.

The intersection of White Oak Road at Market Street has reopened on the city's west side, with a reconfigured design.

Labor leaders say contractors working on a renovation of the Uptown Normal hotel are violating prevailing wage and other laws for workers at the site.

A Town of Normal fixture is retiring after four decades in municipal government and the town is re-aligning leadership in the wake of that. Inspections Director Greg Troemel oversaw $3 billion in commercial and residential growth.

A wood building material can be used in high-rise structures, giving it the potential to replace materials that are bad for the climate, while also locking carbon into buildings for decades.

Transportation officials say they’ve made good progress in the first six months of construction on Market Street on Bloomington’s west side, with plans to wrap up next spring after a winter shutdown.

Demand for skilled trades workers is on the upswing, but there's a huge untapped resource to fill — women.