Bloomington Plan Commission members are considering a new student housing development that could add more than 600 new bedrooms to the city’s east side. The proposed site is on the south corner of 3 rd Street and State Road 446.
The proposal asks for several variances to city code, including increasing the residential density from the 50 units allowed to 250 units.
Plan Commission member Susan Sandberg says she’s hesitant about the development’s proposed size and rent.
“This looks like a student housing project and it does not check off the boxes for me on one, appropriate scale, not being quite so dense and also the affordability,” Sandberg says.
Developers Fountain Residential Partners out of Dallas, Texas say the development would bring lower cost housing to the student market. Prices are expected to range from around $650-$700 a bedroom in a four-bedroom unit to $1,000 in a one-bedroom unit.
The commission will take up the proposal again at its Aug. 13 meeting.