John Fernandez

The Energy Sciences Network, a high-speed computer network serving the U.S. Department of Energy, is getting an office in Bloomington’s Trades District.

The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission (RDC) is moving forward with a $1.2 million offer for land in the Trades District planned for a hotel.

The former Bloomington mayor succeeds Monroe County Democratic Party Chair David Henry, who resigned earlier this month to run for a county council at-large spot in 2024.

The 22,000 square foot building will house about 13,000 leasable office spaces and be located at the Trades District’s southeast corner.

The City says it must break ground on the project by Oct. 12 under the terms of a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

The board currently consists of nine individuals with expertise in real estate, business, academia and government.

The hotel would be built on a tract of land near the corner of North Roger and West 10th streets, right across from the B-Line Heights apartment complex.

Four tracts are for sale within the five-acre property north of city hall, ranging in minimum cost from $560 thousand to more than $2.5 million.