Residents can fill out a feedback form once the project's website is up and running on June 1, (George Hale, WFIU/WTIU News)
The city will launch a new website June 1 for residents to engage in the planning process for the redevelopments of the current IU Health Bloomington Hospital site.
“This downtown site presents a very rare and exciting opportunity to re-imagine and activate a key Bloomington location in ways that will foster our whole community, strengthen our economy, and sustain our environment,” Mayor John Hamilton says.
IU Health is scheduled to vacate the property when the new hospital opens on the city’s east side in 2021.
“I encourage anyone who loves Bloomington and cares about our future to get involved in the process of imagining and achieving a new, inclusive and dynamic vision for this extraordinary property,” Hamilton says.
In 2018 the city purchased the 24-acre site at Second and Rogers from IU Health in order to start planning for redevelopment.
Earlier in 2020, the city’s Redevelopment Commission hired the architecture and urban planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to oversee the project. SOM will also begin working with the Hospital Reuse Committee, a group of more than 30 community members.
The first stage of the master planning process will be for SOM to virtually host small focus groups in late May.
Public engagement will continue with a virtual town hall held on June 16 at 6 p.m. where community members can share ideas on how the site could be used.
“This is an opportunity for the public to participate in the initial planning discussions so that we are sure the future development reflects both the needs of our citizens and the ambiance of our City,” says Vi Simpson, Chair of the Hospital Reuse Committee says.
