Bloomington’s Hopewell neighborhood is moving forward after city council unanimously passed the project on Wednesday night.
Hopewell is a city-led project located on the former hospital site along west 2nd Street. It’s divided into three areas: south, east, and west. The ordinance rezones the south 6.3-acre south property to a planned unit development or PUD.
The PUD allows up to 98 affordable homes on small lots. That’s about three times more than what the usual zoning would allow.
City council had 15 conditions or modifications, after it was passed by the redevelopment and planning commissions. Members said the PUD fell short on ensuring permanent affordability, street improvements, and energy efficiency.
Controversy about whether council was able to petition or offer amendments led to debates on interpretations of law.
Most of the conditions have been worked out over the last couple of months.
The debate on Wednesday night centered around what percentage of the homes should have “permanent affordability.” That means restrictions on rent and sales prices.
Some council members asked for 50 percent from the original plan of 25 percent. City officials said unknown construction costs could put the project at risk.
RDC Treasurer Geoff McKim said it operates with a finite and declining revenue outlook to make up costs.
“Every additional requirement, say for 50 percent of permanent affordability does potentially have trade-offs and comes at the expense of other public projects,” he said.
The updated condition asked for at least 35 percent designated as permanently affordable with a goal of 50 percent. It also had reporting requirements for city administration.
That was struck after Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson sparked a discussion on how it would deny fair housing standards.
Council member Isak Asare said he thinks council established a framework to elevate permanent affordability to move the project forward.
“I don’t want to do that to the extent that we dimmish supply or make the buildout phases take forever,” he said.
Member Hopi Stosberg said there was misinformation on the project and ‘spin’ on how material was presented.
“It’s just really disappointing that the community heard so much spin around this in ways that were not productive toward an outcome that any of us wanted,” she said.
Member Matt Flaherty said what made this process different is normally council relies on staff to review and represent the city’s interests through a petitioner, and in this case, they were the same.
Read more: Thomson says Hopewell plan isn't perfect, but delivers during housing crisis
Thomson went to Hopewell Commons after the meeting to post a Facebook live reaction.
She called the unanimous vote an incredible step forward.
“This neighborhood has been the vision of our administration for as long as we’ve been in office,” she said. “It has taken a tremendous amount of work to get to a place where we can offer truly attainable home ownership.”
She said Hopewell will revolutionize the way a community thinks about affordable housing through mixed income residents targeting college graduates.
She said houses should start being constructed next year.
