A petition to build a 590-bedroom student housing development on the far east side was met with opposition at Wednesday’s city council land use committee meeting from older residents.
About 10 people lined up during the public comment period to present their grievances, focusing on traffic safety, the need for student housing and Bloomington’s wider challenge with affordable housing.
The committee offered no recommendation to the full council, which will hear the petition Nov. 14.
Fountain Residential Partners, a national development company, is petitioning for exceptions to city code that would allow for 232 housing units at Century Village, an increase of nearly 500 percent from the current zoning limit.
“This site is not the location on which to build the development,” Bloomington resident Tom Schwandt said.
However, Bloomington has a high demand for housing. Rents and occupancies are high, said Alex Crowley, director of the Economic and Sustainable Development Department.
The city’s Comprehensive Plan projects a need for 12,225 additional units by 2040. This calls for about 556 additional units per year.
“We believe that, on balance, Century Village is a good thing for Bloomington,” Crowley said.
City officials said the development fits the requirements set by the Comprehensive Plan. But local residents questioned whether student housing is appropriate at the proposed land between East Third Street and State Road 446, about two miles from the core of campus.
“We think it sends the wrong message to build a large student housing complex at this site, for in effect it is saying ‘welcome to Bloomington the home of student housing,’” wrote Bloomington residents Tom Schwandt and Sherry-Knighton-Schwandt in an email to city council.
Within half a mile of the petition site are several other apartment complexes, including Reserve on Third, a popular student housing property.
Peter Gould, who has been leading a group in opposition of the project, takes Third Street to enter town and was concerned the project would exacerbate traffic safety issues.
But the developers said exhaustive traffic studies have shown the development wouldn’t have much effect on traffic numbers.
“We expect that this is going to be a lot of students,” said Steve Smith of Smith Brehob & Associates. “And students take transit.”
The proposal would alter Bus Route 6 to run through the development. Council members considered requirements Wednesday that would alter parking and entrances to the property.
Locals argued another student housing addition neglects to address Bloomington’s more pressing housing problem: affordable housing.
The developer promised a contribution of $500,000 to the city’s Housing Development Fund, and the landowner will donate five acres of land valued at $1.25 million, said Doris Sims, director of the Housing and Neighborhood Development Department.
Gould and other locals view the donation as a pay-to-play deal where developers build profitable student housing and pass off the task of building affordable units.
“There’s a difference between allocating money and having it get built,” Gould said.
At least three projects similar in scope to Century Village will be considered in the next few months, said city council member Stephen Volan. Two of these housing developments are geared toward students.
The petition now moves to the full council for approval. If the council does not take action by Thanksgiving week, the project will get scrapped.
