Developers plan to build up to 4,250 homes on this 140-acre site on Bloomington's southwest side. (Devan Ridgway, WFIU/WTIU News)
The Bloomington City Council has approved a project to bring up to 4,250 new homes to the city’s southwest side, but even after multiple public meetings dating back to last year, residents and officials alike say the project has been rushed.
Construction on the nearly 140-acre Summit District development may start as soon as next year, according to the developers. It’s coming to a site city officials describe as the largest swath of undeveloped land in the city.
The property is tucked between existing neighborhoods to the north and west, Summit Elementary to the south, and RCA Community Park to the east.
Travis Vencel of Sullivan Development is co-developing the project with Tyler Ridge of Ridge Group. Vencel said the site is ripe for this development, which he said will help address the community’s housing needs.
“There’s a big need for housing, and we have here a 140-acre parcel that’s already served by utilities, has decent access, and is perfect for development,” Vencel said. “At the same time, it will increase and improve access and services to the greater Bloomington area as well.”
The project will include five neighborhoods that will be built in various phases over the next 10 to 12 years, according to Vencel. He said two of them — Shasta Meadow and Denali Woods — could be developed in the next three to four years.
Though the project seems like a done deal, some still question the project’s feasibility and are concerned about its impacts.
John Scott is a resident of Arbor Ridge, a neighborhood west of the development site. He has frequently criticized the development at public meetings.
“My thoughts on the project are that it’s too large and needs to be scaled down,” Scott said. “I’m not against the development; I’m just against the density, and the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any plan. There are no architectural renderings. There is no concept plan.”
Vencel said the project’s next step is designing the roads, streets and neighborhoods. But Scott worries the area is not equipped to handle a development of this scale. However, he said something smaller would be feasible.
“I think 2,500 to 3,000 (units) is the max it should be,” Scott said. “(The city) should have come in and said, ‘Let’s see you do 2,000. Come back when that’s completed, and we’ll give you the rest depending on how well you performed,’ versus carte blanche.”
Scott worries a possible influx of several thousand people will overwhelm nearby roads — especially Weimer Road, a two-lane thoroughfare by Arbor Ridge.
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In addition, he and other residents said the development could worsen flooding on Weimer Road. Some who live nearby say their properties are in a floodplain, and non-permeable surfaces in the development could cause additional water runoff.
Some city council members also have concerns. Dave Rollo, who voted against the project along with Andy Ruff, said the council rushed to approve it.
“By the nature of the development, I thought we would be very cautious about it, and I think we weren’t,” Rollo said. “I think we were very strident; so, I opposed it in part because I think we set the bar very low. We treated a 140-acre development like it was 14.”
Rollo said he wanted to know more about the project’s impact on traffic, the environment, and infrastructure before voting on it.
He also wanted a greater commitment to owner-occupied housing. The council is requiring at least 40 percent of the homes to be developed to allow individual ownership. This requirement was lowered from 50 percent shortly before the meeting in which the council approved the project.
Rollo said the 40 percent threshold is too low, and he was upset by the short notice on the change. He wanted the council to commit to 60 percent owner occupancy.
“We don’t have enough housing where people can build equity,” Rollo said. “What I’m afraid of is that a lot of people are caught in a rent trap, and therefore we need owner-occupied housing.”
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Owner-occupied units were among several conditions the council added before approving the project. Other conditions hold the developer to specific standards on aspects such as building heights and affordability.
Rollo supported most of the conditions but says several — not just the one on owner occupancy — were revised last minute.
He also worries the developers will offset project costs by using the westside Tax Increment Financing District. Rollo said doing so would effectively publicly subsidize the project, whereas the developers should be shouldering as much of the cost as possible.
The developers say they’re working with the city to identify possible funding sources, including but not limited to Tax Increment Financing. The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission must approve the use of Tax Increment Financing funds.
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Isabel Piedmont-Smith represents District 1 on the council, which includes Arbor Ridge residents. She said the city's agreements with the developer address many of residents’ concerns.
“Overall, for the City of Bloomington as a whole, I think it’s a good investment,” Piedmont-Smith said. “I think it’s only natural to be concerned when you have a large development being approved right in your backyard, but there are many safeguards to make sure that the impacts are minimal.”
Piedmont-Smith said certain infrastructure must be put in place before construction can start.
City of Bloomington Utilities had already planned to upgrade the stormwater systems. Now that the project is moving forward, the developers will help pay for those upgrades, according to Piedmont-Smith.
As for traffic, the developer plans to extend Adams Street and Sudbury Drive, both of which are currently dead ends. Piedmont-Smith said the upgrades will provide alternatives to Weimer Road.
Additionally, a city engineer is reviewing a traffic study for the project. Piedmont-Smith said the developer will pay for any recommendations that come out of the report.
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“The project will provide much-needed housing for the City of Bloomington and will also provide significant property tax revenues,” Piedmont-Smith said. “When the assessed value of property in Bloomington increases, there is a chance that any one resident’s tax bill can go down. That depends on the levy, which is determined by the State of Indiana; but that extra property tax money can do good things for the community as a whole.”
She added the additional housing supply may cause the local housing market to even out. She even thinks the project could become a model for owner-occupied housing in Bloomington.
What remains to be seen is how the project may affect the need for an additional school once development is complete. At a previous meeting, Vencel said the Monroe County Community School Corporation asked him and Ridge to dedicate space for a potential new school in the project.
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He added conversations about a possible new school took place early in the planning process and are continuing. If the school corporation approaches the developers in the future about building a new school, they would not need to request a rezone but would have to purchase the land.
In addition to housing, the development will also include space for businesses, hotels, a fire station and a trailhead.
The developers will have to get approval from the Bloomington Plan Commission for each site plan for the five neighborhoods.
