Medium Intensity Proposal

Design team: Tyler Pessler, Team Lead | Mark Adams, AICP | Colleen Zerebny | Kelby Cumpston | Brian Keith

Medium intensity design group at work.

Program Summary

This proposal contains a two-level restaurant attached to an outdoor seating area. To the west of it there are three-four story affordable housing units with a rooftop garden and an attached picnic/park area on the ground level. Residential parking is attached to the buildings. Across Madison, there is a dog park and skate park. To the north are picnic pavilions and green space, with an event tailgating lot. There is a pop-up tent spot along with space for food truck parking. In the center is a restroom shelter. To the east is a playground and a public wall/mural area.

  • Aerial view of the new Front N Center campus showing the restaurant and apartment building.
  • Bodega style grocery store for downtown on Center Street.
  • Apartment units with a rooftop deck and residential zen garden.
  • Biergarten and restaurant.
  • Biergarten and restaurant.
  • Skate park and pavilion on the east side of the old Butler lot.
  • Dog park for downtown across the street from the arena.

Benefits to the Surrounding Area and City

This proposal focuses on enhancing livability in Downtown Bloomington, but it still contains features to draw people downtown from elsewhere in Bloomington-Normal. A three-four story apartment building provides family-oriented amenities as well as practical services. Families would enjoy the building’s dedicated parking, park, and rooftop garden. Residents could shop at the nearby bodega or small grocery store, use the dog park, skate park, and playground. These same amenities would also attract other area residents. A two-story restaurant and beer garden would enliven the site. While not as open as the low-intensity proposal, the scheme still includes public restrooms, public art (a mural wall), and green space, on top of food truck parking, and eating areas. The parking and tailgating area could also be used in coordination with arena events. The apartment building, restaurant, and small-scale retail would cost more than the low intensity proposal. Still the risk is spread out, and this plan has the potential to develop into a larger source of income for the city.

Financial Viability

With the proposed return of the Front N Center parcel to private ownership, the city would resume collecting property taxes from these lots. It is important to note that this project lies within the boundaries of the downtown Tax Increment Financing District, where property taxes on all improvements above the original assessed values of lots will be moved into the TIF fund for the next two decades. However, the whole point of TIF districts is to spur development.
Once the TIF expires, these proposed buildings would contribute to a healthy downtown district.

Simple property tax analysis.