Residents of Bloomington’s historic west side neighborhoods are pushing for a more inclusive development process of the city’s old hospital site.
Residents from Mcdoel Gardens and Prospect Hill neighborhoods gathered for a public presentation last night from Bloomington Restoration Incorporation.
Bloomington-based architect Marc Cornett presented on the importance of the neighborhood grid system and reestablishing the system onto the old hospital site.
"Healing the site with the grid, the urban grid of Bloomington for the scale of our town is a fundamental principle. It’s a roadmap to laying out the entire site," says Cornett.
He says the 24 acre hospital site could be used for a concept similar to Bloomington’s downtown and offer walkable amenities and attractions.
Resident Wendy Bernstein says she hopes to see an organic development process for the old site with improvements that blend with the surrounding areas.
“Buildings with character, and as Marc said welcoming door ways. And a scale, that I would call vertical, that relates to all the buildings around the square or to the individual family houses nearby," says Bernstein.
Cornett says the city has a history of building specific projects that don’t reflect the needs of low-income residents and is pushing the city to stray away from what he calls “specialized student warehouses” at the hospital site.
Residents echoed Cornett’s concerns, saying there’s been a rush to narrow down developers for the project rather than vetting all the possible development options and consulting the public.
Mary Catherine Carmichael, the city’s Director of Public Engagement called the characterization of public input opportunities a “gross misrepresentation” and she says the city has worked to take input constantly throughout the process.
She also says idea that one developer will have complete control over the project is inaccurate, and says multiple developers will be a part of the process.
The city officially purchased the hospital site in 2018 for $6.5 million, after more than a year of negotiations with IU Health. Bloomington will receive the land after IU Health moves to a combined hospital and academic complex on State Road 45/46.
