Connect Transit announces three possible sites for Downtown Bloomington transfer center

Posted on January 27, 2021
Connect transfer center
Connect Transit board chair Ryan Whitehouse said a final site will be chosen by the board at its meeting February 23. (WJBC file photo)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – There are three final site candidates for a new Connect Transit transfer center in downtown Bloomington.

The sites include the former Pantagraph building, the Market Street Parking Deck, and the former C2 East Bar and Lounge. More information about each site can be found here.

“We know there is $18 million associated with building this project, but the total overall output for the entire project with the direct, indirect, and induced jobs is $29.5 million,” said Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council CEO Patrick Hoban. “I would say that is a really good return on investment for $18 million, if that was coming from local money. Because this is not local money, we’ve actually already paid these dollars and we are bringing this back from the state and the feds back home.”

Money for the project comes from state and federal sources, including a $7 million grant from the Rebuild Illinois capital program.

“This is something that is not going to just benefit those who ride Connect Transit, it will help move us to a new phase of being a multi-modal city, and it will be a very important anchor to downtown Bloomington,” said Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner.

Connect Transit board chair Ryan Whitehouse said a final site will be chosen by the board at its meeting February 23. They hope to begin construction this spring.

Neil Doyle 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…