The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission (RDC) is moving forward with a $1.2 million offer for land in the Trades District planned for a hotel.
At its Monday meeting, the RDC approved a letter of intent from Alluinn Development, LLC and Pure Development, Inc. to purchase two tracts of land on the site, east of Rogers Street and north of 10th Street. Alluinn will engage Pure Development as the project developer, according to meeting documents.
The plan is to build a $35 million, 150-room boutique hotel, complete with meeting spaces, a restaurant and bar.
Mayor Kerry Thomson told the commission she supports this project.
“We constantly are hearing from the 25-and-up crowd, ‘Where is it that we hang out after hours?’” Thomson said. “I think this really magnetizes the Trades District in a different way and will bring people that are not just in trades during the day, but other folks that are interested in that ecosystem.”
The RDC also received but rejected a $1.35 million offer from MHG Hotels, which previously offered $990,000.
MHG offered to purchase only Tract 3 of the Trades District, whereas Alluinn and Pure Development offered to purchase Tracts 3 and 4.
John Fernandez, senior vice president of innovation and strategic partnerships at The Mill — which manages the Trades District’s development and marketing — described selling both tracts as the better option.
“Since we’re talking about at least 150 rooms, if you’re just using Tract 3, it’s a pretty narrow lot,” Fernandez said. “Trying to get 150 rooms on that lot might require us to have a much taller building, which, we’ll just run into issues with our height variances and also escalate the construction costs significantly.”
City staff will negotiate a project agreement with the developers, which must be brought back to the RDC for final approval.
The agreement must be executed within 60 days of the letter being signed unless extended by the RDC and developers.
Fernandez said the hotel will ideally open for business in fall 2026.
