A plan to relocate Bloomington police headquarters and fire administration into the western portion of the city hall building faces another challenge: some tenants do not want to terminate their leases early to make way for the project.
Corporation Counsel Margie Rice shared that information Monday with the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission, the same day the commission considered four early lease terminations for tenants in that part of city hall, also known as Showers West.
Rice said 14 tenants are in Showers West, and eight are willing to end their leases early while the remaining six are not. Another eight already have vacated.
The following tenants do not want to move, according to Rice:
The Bank of America
Bloomington Health Foundation
Monroe County CASA
Warrant Technologies
ProBleu, Inc.
Bloomington Board of Realtors
Rice told WFIU/WTIU News the city knew since last year that certain tenants did not want to move early, when John Hamilton was mayor. The Showers West project started under Hamilton and is being continued by Mayor Kerry Thomson.
“Hopefully (we are) able to work out something that works for these tenants and works for the city,” Rice said. “We have no interest in getting in any sort of contested situation with any of these (tenants). They’re members of our community, and we want to work with them.”
Rice said negotiations with the remaining tenants are ongoing and the city will move forward with early lease terminations for those who are willing to move.
The tenants wanting to stay have leases that expire between June 2024 and May 2027, according to Rice. Some have the option to renew if they notify the city of their intent within a certain timeframe.
Rice said the project could continue if some of those tenants stay in their spaces longer.
“It is possible that they could stay put, and we could work around them,” Rice said. “I think anything is possible. Whether that’s ideal and whether that’s the direction we go, I’m not sure; but again, I’m looking forward to talking with these tenants and exploring options.”
The six tenants that don’t want to move use a combined 12,489 square feet in Showers West, according to Rice.
In December, the commission put four construction bids for Showers West on hold upon a request from Thomson, who said she wanted more time to review the bids. Rice said those bids expire Feb. 9 if none are accepted.
If the bids expire and construction does not start right away, that will allow the tenants more time to stay in Showers West, according to Rice.
She said the city is trying to determine whether it wants to accept any of the bids or allow them to expire.
“The bids were specific to the design that was submitted to those bidders,” Rice said. “It’s not clear whether the city is going to utilize that exact design or alter it in some way.”
Rice also said Thomson is trying to figure out what to do with Showers West, but that it will most likely be used for a public purpose, even if she takes the project in a different direction.
That’s in line with what City Attorney Larry Allen told the commission about the Showers West project: Thomson is reviewing it and plans to use the space in some way.
“Our direction has been to continue as we are moving forward, at least with the lease terminations, because we do anticipate transforming the use of the building over time into some city use,” Allen told the commission. “That has not been finalized yet in terms of what that will look like.”
On Monday, the commission approved three of four early lease terminations on its agenda. The city will pay Kerr Law, P.C.; Indiana Team, LLC; and Bynum Fanyo Utilities a combined $50,000 for the early terminations.
The fourth early termination under consideration, which is for GP Strategies Corp., was postponed to a later meeting because the termination fee was not specified.
