Okay. John Weichart. Yes. Okay, so that's approved. Item number three, Treasurer's Report, Mr. Silberstein.
Sorry, no Treasurer's Report at this time. Okay, thank you. Item number five is the President's Report,
and it's not bulleted. However, there are change orders that we need to look at today, one which will
require your approval. And I don't know, do we have a slide for that?
sent the information out to the members of the board so they've seen it. I just want to wait and make
sure it's up here for the public to see as well. In the meantime, if anybody has a little ditty they'd
like to sing for a moment. There we are. So we have several change orders that are under the $25,000 threshold
which I have been authorized to approve. They are in order at electrical for a for tour bus. And you'll
notice the codes that we've added codes for which of the three reasons
for change orders, are these being made? Number one, unforeseen conditions. Number two, error or omission.
Number three, owner requests. So adding electrical for the tour bus is an owner request. Cut concrete
for air burial install was an error and omission. Add electrical to roof for maintenance equipment that
had not been included. That was an owner's request. Adding steel reinforcement.
was an error and omission. Replacing curb is an owner request. The curb, just quickly to say, the curb
on the east side, some of it was going to be cut out, some of it was going to be left, so we were going
to have new old, new old, and so we requested that we just put all new curbs in on that side. Millwork
for stairs and corner guards, error and omission, and then one that I'm sure you'll be pleased to see,
which is a credit back to us of $128,521,
I'd like to change this to owner request. We asked for $128,000 back, but it's actually because of an
unforeseen condition that we didn't need it. So those were the ones that I approved. Before we move
on, are there any questions about my approvals since we've last met? All right. And then we have a request.
for over $25,000, which is for unforeseen and below slab condi—wait a minute, where am I looking at
the over 20—oh, I'm sorry, that's the one you have to approve. So you have to formally approve that
you want $128,000 back. So is there a motion to approve—okay, so we have a motion. Is there a second?
All right, so it's been moved and seconded. Does anybody want to argue that we want $128,000 back?
Seeing no argument, that one is approved. So that takes care of the change orders. And then you can
see this month what that amounts to. You can see contingency use to date, which is 28% of our original
contingency, leaving a remaining contingency of $1.7 plus million. Mr. Baird. A question for Jason,
if I may. Obviously, it's speculative, but given how
We are on this project at 28% contingency expended. Do you have a thought on what that might grow to?
It feels like we're in pretty good shape here. So I would, yes, I would agree with you that we're in
pretty good shape that we've only that we've used almost a quarter less than a third of the contingency
that's in place and we have six months left. Yeah, so I mean we're past the 50%
This is usually the change orders that you run into. The contingencies are more of the unforeseen conditions.
Yeah, and sometimes it's you might run into weather related things that cause increases. So knock on
wood as long as you know we don't find anything else as the weather for you know behaves itself and
you know there's not a whole lot more to ask for. We should be in really good shape.
Before I'm going to come back to Mr. Bruce, I forgot to ask for a roll call vote on the over $50,000.
So is there a motion? We have a motion. We have a second. So we need to vote on that. Jay Baer? Yes.
Jim Soberstein? Yes. Joyce Poehling? Yes. Doug Bruce? Yes. Galen Cassidy? Yes. John Weichart? Yes. Thank you.
Now, Mr. Bruce. Just to follow up on Mr. Baer's question, the contingency amount though, is that a total
amount for the total project which includes the renovation portion of this building also? So that's,
we'll want to keep an eye on it just because new projects tend to not draw as much, but a renovation
you could certainly uncover some unknown, unforeseen circumstances. So we'll want to go into the renovation
of this building with
with a hefty contingency still, I would think. And I know, if I may, that we've talked about in particular
that we approved new windows. And we're in an old building, and we begin to tear these old windows out.
And we're not sure what unforeseen conditions we may find. So we do have to carefully monitor the contingency
funds that we have left in the event we need them for those kinds of unforeseen conditions. Any other
comments, questions?
All right, construction update, Andrew Sherry from Weddell. Perfect, thank you, John. Share my screen
here. Okay, so we'll get started on the construction progress and upcoming activities.
Here is a picture as of this morning from the northeast entrance seeing the north elevation as you can
kind of see here a lot of your glasses installed on the north side we are jumping to the other side
of our feature wall on masonry columns and then we will have probably next week this northeast entrance
the frames start to go in at those those areas so
Steel progress, structural steel update. All of our supplemental steel is completed in the exhibit hall.
We are scanning tomorrow for all of our partition walls so that those will be on order. We'll probably
see those at the job site. Ready for install in eight weeks. We'll see where we're at as far as the
overhead progress. Our stairs are in progress. These are the grand stairs right here in this picture.
So the terrazzo treads and everything obviously are not there, but we're working on grand stairs, north
patio egress and backup house access.
And then the remainder of the work that we have for the iron workers are just miscellaneous accessories,
handrails around the loading dock areas, things like that. Interior concrete, so our access slab is
going to be completed within two weeks. Again, that's just the access that we had for the pump to finish
out our north elevated deck. So north deck done, button up some underground at the restroom where we've
been pulling trucks in and out, and then button that up and then we have
100% of our slabs completed. And then we're finishing on our west elevations as far as curtain wall
systems. Exterior concrete, our east side site work has started. So this picture here is the southeast
ramp, which is in progress. Our sidewalk subgrade is in progress. And then we are preparing for curb
and sidewalk pours next week. So curves have been removed, the remainder of the concrete has been removed
again, and then prepping the site for our exterior improvements.
exterior progress. Our exterior column wraps are in progress on the north elevation. Granite and limestone
is starting on the west elevation. Curtain wall frames and glass are in progress on west elevation.
Our perimeter canopy vapor barrier is in progress to prep for our metal panels. So they're working on
the metal panels right now on the bottom of the connector, buttoning up, and then they're going to jump
over to the new expansion project and we'll start to see this eyebrow take shape. This picture here is on
the southeast side of the project looking north towards the parking garage. Our south exterior CMU walls
are in progress at the south loading dock area. The metal panels, I think we have a delivery today for
the building. And then our roof is installed other than the tie-in at the perimeter and our connector.
So our back of house roof is all dried in. We'll actually talk about it, but we have electrical gear
that has landed on the job and they're starting hookup and everything.
Here are some exterior photos. So this is our east elevation on the left-hand side. As you can see where
this lift is, this is our sidewalk prep and then our northeast entrance. Again, prepping for hopefully
next week to start setting frames at these corners at these entrances. Here is a photo. Both of these
are from the north side. The bottom picture is trying to show the connector progress with our closure,
the patio, and then the top picture is the northeast.
Interior progress, the bulk of our interior walls are nearing completion. We have miscellaneous areas
that are gonna be finalized. So around the exhibit hall, we've got 12 foot duct returns, things like
that. As they install those risers, then we'll button up the framing and drywall around those. Mechanical,
electrical and plumbing and fire protection rough ends are in progress. Our interior inspections are
underway so that we can start drywall. We've inspected and passed the east corridor, south wall of the
main exhibit hall.
and the south mechanical space. So again, we've broke these areas out to get these approvals so that
at the end of this month when we get temporary climate control in, we'll start finishing drywall and
closing things in. Our back of house interior masonry walls are topping out. This photo right here on
the right-hand side is the electrical room in the back of house and this is the electrical gear that
they're working on. So this is what we're actually gonna use for our temporary climate control and then
energize the building. With that said, we have equipment
equipment deliveries that have started. Electrical gear is here. And then in August, we'll see plumbing
equipment, mechanical equipment, things like that. Here's some interior photos. The top left is the
backup house. So on the left-hand side, that is your South ramp to get to the loading dock area. And
then the bottom right picture is the South exhibit hall wall. So fully insulated. You can see the duct
work progress through here, things like that.
Top left photo here is the main entrance to the exhibit hall, the three doors, and then the right picture
is the east corridor. So again, we're getting very close. As soon as we get our building energized,
put temporary climate control in there and really start our going, closing areas in with drywall, finishing
drywall, and then prepping for paint. Upcoming activities, interior wall, drywall and insulation to
progress. Prepare for painting activities.
Fireproofing will be completed on the project. They started in our last main area, which is back of
house. Interior stairs to be completed, setting electrical and mechanical equipment, the entirety of
in-wall and overhead rough ends to continue, and then plan on completing our masonry scope, which again,
the remainder of that is just the back of house area. Upcoming exterior work, exterior limestone and
granite to be completed at the perimeter of the building.
Loading dock area feature walls to follow exterior walls. So as we button up our south wall, they'll
fall into the connector column enclosures, the south wall along college, the trash enclosure, things
like that. Our roofing system to start tying into the perimeter metal panels. So we set these metal
panels, they'll come in and detail that out. Exterior CMU brick to be completed on the north elevation.
So all of our column wraps to allow for our curtain walls, glass and everything to be installed.
And then we're also starting to prepare for our third street improvements. So the median changes, the
new loop detectors, sidewalks, curbs, and remilling. Connector activities. So the photo right here on
the right-hand side is looking towards the existing convention center. These are the metal panels and
the lights installed. We have curtain wall frames nearing completion over College Avenue right now.
I'll actually show some pictures. We have the majority of glazing in. We are going column to column
across college so that we can reopen next Friday. Glazing systems are currently being installed, metal
panels to be completed. And then again, we will open next Friday on the 24th. Here's a photo of the
glass installed on the south side from the second floor. Again, they're putting these panels in so that
either they'll hide the steel here and then put these filler panels in.
and then here's a photo from the second floor on the north elevation. So personally think it looks really
good, a lot of work. Crews have been working hard long days to get these installed and we are on track
for our opening next Friday. Thank you. I wanted to ask with Mr. Turner's vacation, did anything fall
behind or did we continue to make good progress? It was hard to not hear him for a week. Yeah, okay.
Any questions about the report? And I didn't see any pictures of the tour that was taken by some of
our board members and Mr. Askins. I know they toured the building and I didn't see any photos. I shared
them on Facebook this morning. They're on Facebook. Okay, so if you want to look at Facebook, you can
see them on Facebook. So, seeing no questions for Mr. Ferri. I've got just a quick one. Oh, a question.
Mr. Silberstein. Yeah, the overhangs, the canopies, they're wrapped in metal. What sort of metal is that?
Um, I would have to see what our metal panels are. Um, Eddie may be able to answer. Yeah. If you can
go back to the photo of the bridge, that might be the thunder side. I'm talking about the canopy. Yeah,
it's the same thing. It's the same thing. Is it aluminum or is it? It's aluminum. It's aluminum. Okay.
Yeah. Just thinking about, yeah, it's totally exposed to the weather. Yeah. Aluminum's good. Okay. Anyone
else? All right. Thank you.
Moving on to working group updates, the first one is wayfinding. Mr. Layton, I believe, has some information
he'd like to share with us. Yes. So we are at the point now where we have received bids and we're ready
to get those approved. So I was going to kind of update the group on what we've been doing for the past
month. So talk about the process we went through a little bit, the results and then the recommendation.
So just the process, the schedule we followed.
Basically, the project was out to bid in May. We received those bids last month on the 17th. We spent
the last few weeks reviewing those bids so we could have our recommendation today. And just a reminder
of where the costs we were looking at for these estimated cost before we bid the project was that the total
A project including the design fees would be around $471,000, which if you took out the design fees
for what the bid would be, you know, you're right around $398, something like that. So that's what we're
expecting to do. We did receive four bids for the project.
ranging in a cost from $213,000 up to $517,000. We reviewed the scope with the low bidder, apparent
low bidder, which is Greenfield Signs. We discovered they did not include the $60,000 contingency within
their bid, which, if you add that to their number, made them no longer the low bidder. So we moved on
to the second low bid of Graphic House to inquire same thing. Thankfully, they said they were. They
did have the
That amount included. And so our recommendation was to award that to Graphic House. Happy to take questions.
So we have that as a recommendation. Is there a motion to approve the recommendation? Is there a second?
Second. Second. So it's been moved and seconded. So now, is there any discussion or questions or comments, Mr. Baer?
Is this wayfinding package solely for this building or for both buildings, or for the new building or
both buildings? Both buildings. Okay. Any other questions? All right, seeing none, Mr. Parrish, would
you take the roll? Jay Baer? Yes. Jim Silberstein? Yes. Joyce Polling? Doug Bruce? Yes. Gaelen Cassidy?
Yes. John Weichart? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Layton.
Anything on furniture fixtures and equipment? I don't believe we have anything this month. No, things
are out to bid. We'll have should have something at the next meeting. Okay, thank you. Art installations
update. I don't believe we have anything for this month. So the next item is report on the demolition
process and I believe JS held has information for us on that. I want to make sure I have my notes.
Just a quick update. We are reviewing proposals from BRCJ for demo documents and from that environmental
for face to review of the properties. And we'll make recommendations to Mr. President when completed.
So that is our update at the moment. All right, thank you.
Next item of business, number eight, report and recommendation from Hotel Evaluation Group.
It says JS Held, but I'll go ahead and report back on what happened in our evaluation meeting yesterday.
Introducing the recommendation from the Hotel Evaluation Group, let me provide some background information.
It has been quite a journey to the recommendation we have today.
our many attempts over the last two and a half years to complete our project goals by advancing a host
hotel project from contributing assistance to the RDC process in the earlier unsuccessful attempt when
we were asked to in October of 2025 and more recently in acquiring ownership of the land we needed so
that this board could release its own RFP have been both exhaustive and at times exhausting. After April,
Or in April, after gaining control of land to offer, we released a new RFP with three basic requirements.
Build on our parcels, build a full service hotel to our requirements. Do not ask for any additional
subsidies as a contingency. And there was always a fourth goal that was implied. Don't just meet the
minimum requirements, inspire us with the unique design to show your commitment to our community.
The Dora hospitality proposal not only met expectations for 200 guest rooms, restaurant and bar, fitness
center and meeting space, but it exceeded expectations, including a plan for 200 parking spaces. Dora
proposed an architectural design that is not only aesthetically and uniquely created for Bloomington,
but one that allows us to vision a host hotel on South College that has the potential to anchor
transformational Southward development of our community. Cindy, do we have that?
Yeah. We've got some slides that we wanted to kind of run on a loop as we talk about this. We are already
familiar with the team of Vince Dora, Russ Lauderback, and David Rausch. They came back to us having
Adelwebel Brothers, ensuring the contribution of our own well-known construction team member to theirs
with a local workforce that lives here and contributes to the economic benefit of our community. Wages
paid here, wages staying here.
Dora followed up after their interview last week to express appreciation for that opportunity, but also
to communicate the following to us. And I'm going to read an email that was received last week from
Mr. Louderback. John and Jim, Jim B and Jim Whitlatch, thank you for the opportunity to present to the
CIV board last week.
We genuinely enjoyed the conversation and left feeling even more energized about the project and what
it can be for the city of Bloomington. We wanna take this opportunity to let you all know that the south
parcels are our preferred site for the convention center hotel. And we are fully committed to building
there. This is not a fallback position. It is where we want to build and we've been planning around
it. The site works for the program,
It works for the guest experience and it works for the long-term relationship between the hotel and
the convention center. Russ and I are ready to move forward the moment the CIB is ready to move with
us. We have the team, the capital relationships and the commitment to deliver a hotel that Bloomington
will be proud of for generations. We appreciate everything you and the board have done to get this project
to this point. And we look forward to the opportunity to finish what we started together. Vince Dora
and Russell Lauderback.
We released an RFP in April to get to where we are today. We have land, we have a hotelier who developed
an outstanding proposal, and in them a hotel partner who wants to build on our land as their preferred
site. So with that, I would like to offer a motion on behalf of the board, on behalf of the committee.
I move that we accept the unanimous recommendation of the Hotel Evaluation Committee
to select Dora Hospitality as the host hotel for the Bloomington Convention Center, to construct a hotel
fully consistent with a proposal provided to this CIB on July 8th, 2026, and to work in an integrated
fashion with the CIB, the Convention and Visitors Commission, and Visit Bloomington to promote, market,
host, and sell conventions in Monroe County and Bloomington, and B, make available those south parcels
to be identified and agreed upon for hotel construction,
and C, direct Mr. Whitlatch to enter in discussions with Dora Hospitality to identify steps forward
toward bringing a definitive agreement for the host hotel to this CIB. I offer that as a motion on behalf
of the board. I would point out, I've mentioned them, the evaluation group was CI board members,
Jay Baer, Doug Bruce, myself, attorney Jim Whitlatch and controller Jeff Underwood, Jason Larrison and
Mary Kripinski of JS Held, Mike Campbell, the Convention and Visitors Commission,
Mike McAfee, a visit Bloomington. And it was a unanimous conclusion of this evaluation group to bring
this motion forward. So I bring that motion forward and it's been seconded. So it's been moved and seconded.
Is there discussion? Are there questions? Is there conversation? Mr. Bruce. Thank you, President Blackheart.
I have some points I'd like to make.
to the committee here, to the board that came out from my notes from the interviews with the hoteliers
and in the end with the selected hotelier, Dora Hospitality. So I will try to look through my own handwriting
and get these to you. So a few things here about the process. So, you know,
Upon selection of a hotelier, we submitted this initially at our first RFP to the RDC, and that's been
over 18 months ago. Negotiations passed for the Bunger site to no avail of agreement. And the next,
we were told the CIB by both the City Council and the Mayor in no uncertain terms would the Bunger site be given
to the CIB, but would need to be purchased for at least $7 million. The interlocal agreement calls for
the CIB to request transfer of parcels needed for this center and hotel and negotiate in good faith
for them. The CIB has tried numerous times. I personally went with President Weichart to the RDC meeting
to get the RDC to pause their RFP for 30 days
so we can discuss possible parcel swaps or other ideas. Time is of the essence. So the CIB reissued
a second RFP, as President Weickart mentioned back in April, for the parcels that the CIB actually owns
and selected, again, the same hotelier. And this hotelier, if they started today, this hotel as a host
hotel would not be open
until sometime in 2029. The hotelier that we selected has spent a great deal of time and money in their
RFP submittals and now have stated in our interviews that the South parcels are there and after there
I'll say increase scrutiny because they've had two RFPs to look at this is a better and preferred location
for their hotel. This hotel
has utilized three parcels, which leaves the potential of development for the remaining south parcels.
Finally, the interlocal agreement states that the CID is to expand the convention center and select
sites for related amenities, i.e. hotel. We have held public hearings and two RFPs for a hotelier, and
now have a hotelier with an exciting proposal in architecture, parking, location,
and on a site they prefer. Those are my comments, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you. Other comments?
Other comments, Mr. Baer? I would just acknowledge that other members of the community, the city council,
the mayor and others have suggested that this body submit a request
to continue the land swap negotiations as part of the RDC's RFP. While that would possibly make sense
in some context, and certainly historical context, at this point, both the CIB at large and certainly
our preferred hotelier have suggested that the south parcel is actually a preferred site for the hotel
as opposed to the north side site.
which sort of invalidates any need from our perspective to do LA Unspoken. As mentioned a couple of
times, there's a lot of reasons why it is a superior site. It is connected to the Convention Center
on the same street. So guests of the hotel don't have to cross a very, very busy intersection to get
to the Convention Center. It's also right next to an existing hotel, which is the courtyard across the
street. So there's some hotel contiguity, you know, continuousness in the region.
So there are some compelling reasons, and I just reiterate what Mr. Bruce indicated. As you can see
from the slides that are playing here in the room, the proposed site plan from Dora Hospitality Group
is just the portion of those cell parcels that are closest to the convention center. Obviously, close
walking distance is important to convention hotel guests, but it does not take up the entire parcel.
So there may, in fact, at some point,
be able to do something else with those parcels, convections and related or something else. And I'll
just finally say that how much I personally understand and appreciate the enthusiasm of members of this
community to preserve or attain affordable housing in this community. We all live in this community.
That's why we're on this board. There's a sign in the room right now that says homes, not hotels. But
I think that's a false equivalency. Our role is not to solve affordable housing for Bloomington or Monroe County.
We certainly believe that affordable housing is a massive priority in this community, but there are
many other places and frankly, more appropriate bodies to solve that problem than the CIB. And just
speaking personally, I certainly hope that those issues and initiatives are undertaken. Thank you. Any
other comments from board members? I just want to thank the DORA group for being willing to pivot
and take a look at these south properties and help us discover that they're actually a superior location
for our project. So I'm grateful for that. Any other comments from board members? So we have a motion
and a second. And Mr. Paris, would you take the roll? Jay Baer? Yes. Jim Silverstein? Yes. Joyce Pauling?
Yes. Doug Bruce? Yes.
Yes. John Weichert. Yes. So the motion passes. I want to, Mr. Lauderback is with us. Mr. Lauderback,
I want to offer you an opportunity, if you'd like, if you care to share any comments, you're certainly
welcome to. And if you don't mind, if you'd use a podium where there's a microphone so we can pick you
up for recording purposes. I just want to say how appreciative we are that we didn't have to go through
this a third time.
but we have very appreciative of this. We look forward to it. We will stand by our commitments. We are
going to build a sustainable project. We're gonna, we're using Weddle Brothers. We're gonna be at least
70% union. We care very much about the local community. All of us are part of this local community as
part of this development team. So we're gonna do our very best, provide you the very best
host hotel that we can. And we do like this site very much. And thank you very much for voting for us.
Thank you. All right, next item of business is old business. Is there any old business to be brought
before the board? Any new business to be brought before the board? Comments from board members? Any
additional comments that you didn't make otherwise and would care to make now?
Comments from the public and we offer the public an opportunity. We have a 10 minute period. Individuals
may use up to two minutes to make public comments if they so wish. So if there are any members, any
community members present who would like to comment, you're most welcome to. If you are online and would
like to comment, if you'll, I guess use that hand emoji and put it up in the air, we'll get
to you eventually. So Mr. Green, I see you're first at the microphone. Welcome back. Oh yeah, wouldn't
happen any other way.
Yeah, so I'm Bryce Green and I'm with Bloomington Homes for All. We've been the organization that's
been advocating for the preservation of Seminary Point and more acutely, the land swap deal that was
just alluded to by some of the members here. So we see that the CIB has moved forward with choosing
the spots just north of Seminary Point as the location for the hotel.
It is my hope that even despite maybe the reduced need or the reduced desire for a land swap for a hotelier
to build on the College Square site, we still believe that the land swap is still something worth pursuing
just because it is one of the only ways that we can see that we'll be able to save the Seminary Point
housing from being demolished. And as it has been made public, the value of the properties is not as
big of an issue
The relative value of the properties is not as big of an issue as it was earlier. And the immense public
support for preserving Seminary Point, while it is not the role of this body, I think it is still something
that this body has the ability to act on and has, you know, it's my hope that this body will.
Thank you. Thank you. You can identify yourself for the record, please. Matthew Joseph.
Okay, so I guess the biggest thing right now is what is the plan for Seminary Point? I mean, we're talking
about people's homes and people's businesses. This is a core question that I think the entire community
is thinking about.
And so this is a place where business owners and residential tenants are holding on for their lives
to some extent until the August 1st deadline. What is the plan for Dale, the owner of Blue Tip, that
doesn't have another affordable option in Bloomington as he's been looking for two years for another,
anything that's even similarly priced and hasn't found one? What about residential tenants that haven't
seemed to find any other option for super affordable rent that's accessible to them other than a seminary
point? What's the plan for the land?
What do you plan on doing with the Bloomington Homes for All proposal that outlines a plan for Seminary
Point that can make the necessary renovations and can maintain the affordability of Seminary Point?
What's the plan on what's going to happen with the RDC, who has made legal efforts to communicate that
they would like you to hold off on picking a hotelier?
I mean, all the signs are saying that they would like to negotiate and in six days from now, we can
have a formal negotiation process between the RDC and the CIB for College Square. And this is where
those formal negotiation processes can happen.
I mean, so the question is like, will you join the community, the advocates, the RDC, the city council,
the mayor's office, and our care for maintaining Seminary Point as a home for commercial and residential
tenants at an affordable rate? The community is watching and we wanna see what that plan is. And we
ask that you engage with the advocates and the necessary bodies to come up with a good plan because
that plan,
I don't think we want you to sell the land and use it for the Capital Improvement Board, because how
does that help with affordable housing? Thank you. Thank you. Hi, I'm Amber Core with Bloomington Homes
for All. This first part is for the public record. The CIB needs to submit an RFP to the RDC on building
the Convention Center Host Hotel at College Square.
That plan should include land swapping, the CIB's own Seminary Point for the city-owned College Square,
one for one, currently both publicly indicated to be valued at roughly seven million. Once the city
is in possession of Seminary Point, the land should be transferred to Avalon Community Land Trust at
no cost for the mission of sustainable, affordable housing. This part is for everyday people.
current rent in Bloomington is upwards of $1,600 a month. In order for someone to pay no more than 30%
of their income, that means they would need to make $31 an hour. The CIB claims that there will be 500
new jobs created from the convention center,
Will you be willing to pay these employees $31 an hour? Our homes will be able to house the people at
the rate you're willing to pay them. Seminary Point, where there are two historically contributing buildings,
were originally built as worker housing, which is the exact kind of housing that Homes for All is fighting
to preserve.
It's very sad that demolition is scheduled for Seminary Point, another communal neighborhood space to
be destroyed on the South Side, just like players pub.
rhinos and the original chocolate mousse. The CIB has already maneuvered a potential $7 million land
subsidy for the hotel. I'm not sure what more could come from the negotiations. The city should not
have to pay for additional fees like the underground parking, sky bridge or rooftop or any other fees
that should be covered by the hotel. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Sarah Wolford. I'm the Housing Solutions Director at Habitat for Humanity. I grew up in Bloomington
and I've heard stories of some of you growing up from my parents, Jane St. John and Bob Wolford, and
also from my aunts and uncles and grandparents. You are leaders in our community and have made a lasting
positive impact on Bloomington.
However, I cannot find reason or mercy in your decision to move forward with the demolition of Seminary
Point. The CIB has made no formal proposal, although you have reached out. I don't understand why you
wouldn't make an official proposal to the RDC for a land swap. Seminary Point could be a beautiful addition
to the space around Hopewell and the Convention Center. These are not mutually exclusive ideas.
It could be an anchor to the south side of downtown, an area that has already lost so much community
space like Player's Pub and should not also have to lose gems like Blue Tip and Friendly Beasts. I work
at Habitat and while there, I have to see the horrors that people are facing today and the inexcusable
conditions of some of the homes people are living in. The housing crisis cannot afford the loss of 29 units.
Inaction and silence are individual choices that have real world consequences. The idea that a conversation
would delay constructible
The idea that a conversation would delay construction is laughable to anyone in the business. You still
have to complete phase two environmentals, go through IDEM approval and bid out the project. You have
the opportunity to be a savior of affordable housing while also serving the purpose the CIB was called
to do. Having a community space near the convention center is a mutually beneficial situation. I would
be interested in what
cib plans for the hotel or for the land that the hotel is not taking Thank you. Thank you very much.
Appreciate it. Thank you I think this is our last speaker in our 10-minute limit That's 10 minutes listen
Yes, hello, my name is audrey smith My first request would be that you extend the 10 minutes so that
everyone who came to this meeting is able to give their comments um
As you reviewed the proposals that were submitted for the Convention Center Host Hotel, I'm sure you
were all considering how each will impact the Bloomington community for years to come. I want to highlight
an opportunity you still have, the opportunity to leave not just the best location for convention goers,
but an opportunity to secure affordable housing in the process. I know supporting affordable housing
is not within your mandate on the CIB. As members of this community,
I hope you understand that the lack of affordable housing is a matter that concerns everyone and that
many parts of our community must come together to solve. Maintaining affordable housing may not always
be the easiest path, but for a little extra work, there is a lot of reward. So many members of our community
have rallied around Seminary Point Apartments because of the iconic businesses and organizations that
are based there,
and because of the desperate need for affordable housing downtown. Members of our community are ready
to step in to manage these properties and ensure affordable and vibrant and good neighbors for the Convention
Center and Hopewell and a great place to visit. You just have to get the ball rolling with a proposal
to the RDC. Then when people look at the Convention Center, the story will be,
Did you know that it also saved affordable housing and created additional community space just down
the B line? Not conversation about doubts about whether we gained more than we lost in the process.
Thank you. Thank you. Well, that concludes our public period for comments. So we move on to the next
item on the agenda, which is our next board meeting, which is August 19th, 2026 at 3 PM. We are now
You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.