Housing

Home Sweet Home's non-congregate shelter village, The Bridge, aims to be a more accessible path from homelessness to stable housing. Here's how it'll work.

Mobile homes are rarely discussed as policymakers and developers try to address a housing shortage that’s driven up rents and home prices across Bloomington-Normal. There are many reasons why.

Oak Wood's move into Bloomington-Normal is part of a nationwide trend toward consolidation in manufactured home park ownership, often led by private equity acquisitions. Oak Wood even got help from Freddie Mac, a government entity that is supposed to help make housing more, not less, affordable.

For decades, mobile homes were one of the most affordable housing options in Bloomington-Normal, especially for those with low or fixed incomes. Oak Wood’s arrival in the market has changed that. Oak Wood has again and again squeezed more money from its residents.

To get the decade-old Uptown underpass project over the finish line will require increases in food and beverage and hotel-motel taxes. That staff recommendation emerged at a special town council meeting on Wednesday evening.

Demolition began Tuesday on the Front N Center building in Downtown Bloomington. The property will initially become a parking lot, with hopes for redevelopment later.

In a memo to the council, city staff says Bloomington will still lack sufficient shelter capacity this winter even with the addition of the shelter village that's under construction near Home Sweet Home Ministries. That’s expected to open in December.

The first tenants have already moved in at Carden Springs, a new and sizable apartment and townhome development in north Normal aimed squarely at McLean County’s housing shortage.

The Normal Town Council has reviewed elements of a new strategic plan and approved changes to the Enterprise Zone that would offer development incentives in portions of Bloomington-Normal, including Bloomington's under-performing Eastland Mall.

Under the 2023 Electric Vehicle Charging Act, newly built houses are required to include EV-capable infrastructure. State Sen. Sally Turner, a Republican from Logan County, sponsored a bill that lifts that requirement for nonprofits who are building homes for at-risk veterans. She said the requirement drives up construction costs.