Downtown redevelopment proposal won’t be called for a vote

Posted on June 15, 2015
The Bloomington City Council will continue looking at ways to redevelop downtown Bloomington after Monday night's Committee of the Whole meeting. (Joe Ragusa/WJBC)
The Bloomington City Council will continue looking at ways to redevelop downtown Bloomington after Monday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting. (Joe Ragusa/WJBC)

By Joe Ragusa

BLOOMINGTON – A proposal to redevelop downtown Bloomington will not be voted on by the Bloomington City Council.

The council made the decision about developer Jeff Giebelhausen’s plan during closed session at Monday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting.

He wanted to tear down several buildings at E. Front St. and N. Center St. and then sell the property to the city for $8.5 million so that he or someone else could build something new at the property, either a hotel, mixed-use building or combination of the two.

Mayor Tari Renner said the council wants more specifics from Giebelhausen about his proposal.

“We need to have a more clear endgame,” Renner said. “What specifically and precisely will be on this block? What will the mix of uses be?”

Renner said the proposal is also too risky financially.

“We need something that is less risky than this particular proposal,” Renner said. “We want to make sure that the taxpayers are properly protected.”

No timetable is set to move forward with a plan to redevelop downtown Bloomington.

Joe Ragusa can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…