Residents and mayor spar over Seminary Point demolition, convention-center expansion

At a traveling town hall hosted by Mayor Carrie Thompson at Morgan Stern's bookstore, residents pressed city leaders about planned changes related to a convention-center expansion and the fate of nearby housing.

A resident asked why alternatives to demolishing Seminary Point apartments — which would remove 29 affordable units — were not being considered and suggested options including a cooperative or land trust once the Capital Improvement Board (CIB) received the land. Mayor Carrie Thompson said the city had not seen the plan and had not reviewed it: "We have not uh looked at it. Um we we simply haven't looked at it." She added the city currently lacks capacity and revenue to take on another project, citing state and federal funding reductions and saying "our tiff is maxed out." The mayor explicitly tied reduced city revenue to state action: "if you're tracking what's happening at the state house, Senate enrolled act one has um significantly cut the income uh that Bloomington will have. HUD has made cuts, etc., etc."

Separately, at the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission meeting on April 6, Jane Cooper Smith, director of the city's economic and sustainability department, presented Resolution 2624 to transfer three city-owned parking lots to the Monroe County Capital Improvement Board for use related to the convention center, describing the parcels as parking lots "only" and recommending the CIB as the best positioned body to use them for a host hotel.

During public comment Joe Davis urged the commission to consider other public uses for the parcels, listing a jail or affordable housing and arguing against a hotel: "this is the people's property... We need to reserve this land for a new jail justice center co-location with the courts. We need this land for housing." He added that a hotel would primarily benefit outside visitors and local businesses, not average residents.

The Redevelopment Commission voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2624. The commission and the mayor both emphasized fiscal constraints and limited city capacity as central factors shaping available options; the mayor said staff have been consulting but have not produced a formal report on alternatives, and the city is prioritizing maintaining existing services.

What happens next: The Redevelopment Commission's resolution moves the parcels to the Monroe County CIB. The mayor indicated that, absent new revenue or staff capacity, the city is limited in taking on redevelopment projects or alternative acquisition strategies for Seminary Point.