By Heart of Illinois ABC
BLOOMINGTON – Thursday, the West Market Street Council hosted a ceremony to kick off the demolition of buildings in what used to be know as ‘Fox Plaza’.
Within the upcoming days, buildings in Fox Plaza will no longer be standing.
West Market Street Council is dedicated to economic redevelopment of west market street. The redeveloped plaza will include a neighborhood grocery store to end the food desert in Downtown Bloomington’s west side.
“Being a 20 plus year resident of this community, I’ve watched the disinvestment in this community over the years so to be able to reverse that, it means the world to me,” said president of West Market Street Council Arthur Haynes.
The redeveloped plaza will include a neighborhood grocery store to end the food desert in Bloomington’s west side.
“The findings have been that we need access to a grocery store. The food pantries are fine, the mobile food pantries, the farmers market, and things of that nature, all of those things help, but they’re not a long term solution,” said Haynes.
The plaza will also be home to locally owned retail shops.
“Getting people into the mind frame of growing their own produce, and owning their own businesses and hiring their own neighbors and things of that nature,” said Haynes.
Bloomington Mayor, Tari Renner, says not only does the city owe it to the west side, the plaza is also a place thousands of people pass when getting off the interstate.
“They see this abandoned area, the disinvestment, we’re going to make that change towards economic investment, to make this area once again a place of economic growth,” said Renner.
The demolition of the existing structures by Accurate Demolition is the last step required for the property to be eligible for sale, in fulfillment of the agreement signed August 30, 2019 between Rajesh Kumar, the current property owner, and West Market Street Council.
Demolition is expected to be done next week, with construction to begin in the following days.
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