Housing

The Normal Town Council on Monday heard a proposal for new rules to relax housing construction rules amid an ongoing housing shortage.

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.

The Bloomington City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to pursue negotiations with Champaign-based Royse and Brinkmeyer to develop two properties at 801 and 807 N. Main St., including new housing units.

An item on the Bloomington City Council agenda indicates the city’s intent to move forward with a Champaign-based developer to build housing at a derelict property near Illinois Wesleyan University.

The City of Bloomington provided $80,000 to Habitat for the two homes through its ReBloom the Block Initiative. Excavation work is underway on plots at 20 and 21 Trailside Court.

It’s hard to build housing right now, including in Bloomington-Normal. There is a long list of reasons as to why, including the skyrocketing costs of materials, but the high cost of building has developers looking for ways to fund and start projects without breaking the bank.

Republican Jerry Klinkner is challenging incumbent William Bessler, a Democrat, for the seat to serve District 4 on the McLean County Board. The candidates agree on cost of living as a key issue, but differ in how to achieve lower costs.

Local homelessness, affordable housing, racial disparities, and the planned solution.

Bloomington leaders and representatives from construction and engineering firms working on the project “broke ground” at a ceremony Tuesday for Empire Flats, though construction is well underway.

Illinois State University students are tuning out fire alarm evacuation orders and taping over smoke detectors in campus dorms due to frequent fire alarms, raising concerns about whether students will respond when there is a real emergency.