By Jake Fogal

BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington City Council gave its approval Monday night for plans linked to Connect Transit’s downtown bus transfer hub.

Council members voted in favor 7-2 for Connect Transit to set up shop at the Market Street Garage located at 202 West Market Street. The two opposing votes were Ward 1 Aldermen Grant Walch and Ward 4 Alderwoman Donna Boelen.

There are many steps that still need to be taken in the process according to Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe.

He spoke to WJBC’s Scott Miller on Wednesday.

“We are going to have to sit down with Connect Transit to discuss details such as an intergovernmental agreement that would outline who is going to be responsible for what. We are going to work on some of those details,” Mayor Mwilambwe said..

Current timelines suggest that construction could begin in 2025, with hopes that the project could be complete by 2026 said the Mayor.

The old Pantagraph building at the 300 block of West Washington Street, which has been unoccupied since 2017, was the original candidate for Bloomington’s transfer center. Those ideas, however, were abandoned.

“We’re going to have great amenities, so people will be able to wait inside undercover, so they don’t have to wait in the elements. It’ll be much safer than our current front street location, in that people won’t have to cross the street to get from one bus to the other. So it’s gonna really improve their safety and their comfort and really hope to attract more people to use the bus,” said Connect Transit General Manager David Braun.

According to City Manager Tim Gleason, working with Connect Transit gives the city access to federal and state funding worth millions of dollars that would be used to build the indoor transfer center and a new parking facility to replace the nearly 50-year-old garage.

Jake Fogal can be reached at [email protected].