The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission has rejected all bids for Hopewell South in favor of what city leaders hope is a more efficient affordable housing development process.
Hopewell is the new neighborhood at the former downtown hospital site.
The commission voted unanimously Monday to begin working with development firm Flintlock LAB, which has years of experience creating pre-approved home designs with reduced costs that are acceptable to local city development code.
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The goal of this agreement is to cut down on developer risks and streamline city approvals, according to Mayor Kerry Thomson.
“Development has been very slow in Bloomington,” Thomson said during Monday’s meeting. “It takes a long time to get a permit, and that costs money not just to the developer, but that end cost gets ultimately passed on to the person who lives in the unit.”
According to the agreement, Flintlock will perform an analysis of local city code to make sure home designs fit with zoning and plat requirements, work with city legal staff to offer a mix of permanent affordable housing units, develop a Hopewell website that would contain relevant program documents and agreements in one central location, and create a mailing list of local and small builders to increase access to the project.
City official website: Hopewell | City of Bloomington, Indiana
The idea is to allow numerous small, local developers will keep a “Bloomington feel” to the developments and accelerate the construction timeline. The goal is to start digging dirt in the next six months.
The cost of those services is not to exceed $300,000, per the resolution passed by the commission. Flintlock’s informational packet estimates at least $178,200 in core service fees.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Thomson said it became clear over the last few months that too many obstacles were beginning to make this a financial risk to the two bidders. She said the bidders would not have provided the number of affordable housing units desired and would have extended the project timeline.
“I think this is our one chance to have a downtown, walkable neighborhood that is also attainable for our residents, and we want to make sure that we do it really well,” Thomson said.
The city council, redevelopment and plan commissions will continue to have input on the project, as well as the public.
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