The City of Bloomington broke ground for the Trades District tech center Oct. 5.
The Bloomington Trades District is a 12-acre portion of the Certified Technology Park — a 65-acre area with high-tech businesses, according to the City of Bloomington’s website. The district is northwest of The Square in downtown Bloomington.
The Trades District tech center will include office spaces for Bloomington’s tech sector. The project is funded by a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and $9.3 million from the City of Bloomington.
Due to the weather, the ceremony was held indoors at The Mill, a non-profit coworking and entrepreneurship center, instead of at the lot where construction had started. The ceremony included speakers from Bloomington local government such as Bloomington Deputy Mayor Larry Allen and Bloomington Common Council President Sue Sgambelluri. Members from Dimension Mill, Inc., which manages the development and marketing of the Trades District, also spoke at the event.
John Fernandez, senior vice president of Dimension Mill, Inc. said the tech center will be ready for companies to start moving in January 2025. The tech center will be on the same lot as a boutique hotel if the hotel project is approved by Dimension Mill, Inc, Fernandez said. Alluin Development proposed the construction of the boutique hotel in August 2023.
“We are trying to give identity to this destination,” Fernandez said. “It is much more than just a building; we’re trying to make a community in this area.”
The tech center building will have two levels for companies to work and a third level for storage, according to the floor plans presented at a XYZ meeting Sept. 27. The city plans to spend $12,768,948 on the roughly 22,000 square foot building — around $580 per square foot.
“President Biden is committed to harnessing the full power of the federal government to ensure our nation not only recovers from this pandemic but builds back stronger,” Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, said in an Economic Development Administration press release. “This EDA investment in Bloomington will create a commercialization services hub for second stage and start-up technology companies to connect with regional entrepreneurial resources, bring new products to market and create good-paying jobs.”
The project is expected to create 866 new jobs in the private sector, the part of the economy that is owned and controlled by private individuals and groups for the purpose of making a profit. The project is also expected to generate $218 million in economic activity for the community over a 10ten-year period, according to the City of Bloomington press release.
“Our thriving tech sector needs room to grow, and this new facility fits beautifully, complementing the adjacent Mill, and helping us attract and retain top talent,” Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton said in the press release. “We are grateful to the EDA for their support of this important project.”
