The Bloomington Council says ‘yes’ to a housing development despite some community members not wanting it.
The largest group opposing the development? Self-identifying communists from the local communist party and members of local unions.
They wanted the developer to be required by the city to pay “prevailing wages.”
City Manager Tim Gleason has no problem with how things played out regarding the decision making process concerning this project.
“I enjoy this,” said Gleason. “I enjoy a respectful conversation, a respectful, passionate, emotional debate, strong beliefs. That is exactly how things are supposed to play out. And labor, in this case, was heard. You have got a commitment from the mayor and the council.”
Respectful conversation included one female calling the developers “mother f-kers.”
A woman with faded red hair was upset about the council tabling the decision about the housing development.
“They want the land for free and they want maximum profit,” said Jenee Clark. “They don’t want to pay a prevailing union wage because they think it will cut into their profits. You build a community from the bottom up. It’s benefits two rich mother fuckers and put people above profit.”
A recent study showed the community is more than 4,000 homes short of demand (as of 2022), following a hiring surge by Rivian and other employers.
Traditionally economics tells us as supply goes up and demand falls the prices come down. Rent prices have soared. In April 2023, Bloomington home prices were up 25.1% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $227K. On average, homes in Bloomington sell after 35 days on the market compared to 42 days last year. There were 67 homes sold in April this year, down from 114 last year.
Who voted ‘yes?’
The council voted five to three to approve the development. Council member John Wyatt Danenberger cast a key yes vote.
“I ran on revitalization of downtown,” said Danenberg. “Developers that will come in and propose a housing project that will constitute infill (development) for downtown don’t grow on trees. This is a rare opportunity for the city to take advantage of.”
“Somewhere between 25 and 40 percent of the labor will go locally, said Danenberg. “It’s just going to, by default. And that’s job creation.” “We will be creating jobs for the local unions,” said Danenberg. “We will be creating jobs for local labor.”
Danenberg said 25 and 40 percent of the labor will go to local unions.
Another key vote for the development was cast by Councilmember Jenna Kearns.
“I guess I just want to make it clear that my ‘yes’ vote was in no way a no to understanding the issues that I know people are going through with affordability in this town and so it is not a yes or no proposition,” said Kearns. “A vote for more housing is a vote for me sticking to my principles of addressing our housing issues. And it has to start somewhere.We will continue to press the city to make good on their commitment to address the prevailing wage in the future.”
After the vote, Andy Kauffman, one of the developers, said, “We are relieved. We certainly appreciate being in the community we are, the voices that have been shared, the passion. Organized labor, we are supportive of, really. We love labor, organized and otherwise, and look forward to working with them on the project.”
Gleason said he believes a labor agreement may be needed to specify what percentage of a project must be completed by union workers. He understands that right now, without any requirements, union workers may be doing 25 to 30 percent of the work.
The council has asked for more but what more is must be determined. More could be 40 percent. Gleason doesn’t believe it will be as high as 75 to 100 percent because the cost would sky rocket.
Ultimately the council will decide what more is. In the interim the task for Gleason is to gain an idea of how large, as he framed it, an appetite the council may have.
The development will be at 402 E. Washington St.