Page last updated on September 26, 2022 at 2:14 pm
Each week, Mayor Hamilton and Deputy Mayor Griffin provide video updates on recent news and key initiatives.
Transcript
John Hamilton:
Hi, I'm Mayor John Hamilton.
Don Griffin:
And I am Don Griffin, Deputy Mayor for the City of Bloomington, and today we're going to talk about the Hopewell Project.
John Hamilton:
Oh, I love that.
Don Griffin:
Do you love it?
John Hamilton:
I do love that.
Don Griffin:
Okay. So, a lot's happening. We are demolishing a lot of things over there, located between Rogers and 2nd Street. So we're demolishing a lot of things and it's kind of taking a while. Why is it taking so long?
John Hamilton:
Well, Hopewell is the new name for the old hospital. It was actually the name of the very, very old hospitals, the first name of the building there from a family homestead, I think there, Hopewell. But it's the new name of that neighborhood, and while the hospital is being demolished, we've got this, what we call, phase one east, which we already now own as the city, that we are starting to clear, and we're clearing it of existing buildings, doing a ton of reuse and recycling, all that we can of the concrete and the metal and the different materials there, to be ready for the-
Don Griffin:
That takes a little bit longer, too, when you-
John Hamilton:
It does take a little longer, it takes-
Don Griffin:
But it's the right way to do it.
John Hamilton:
It does, and that block, as you said, between 2nd and 1st, and between Rogers and Morton is where we're going to start some of this redevelopment. So you see a lot of stuff getting torn down, but we're going to be rebuilding it, too.
Don Griffin:
Okay. So we're getting ready for future development, correct?
John Hamilton:
Yes, sir.
Don Griffin:
And a lot of housing opportunities and more business opportunities.
John Hamilton:
Well, we have 24 acres that eventually the city will own, and this is just a subset of that. The main hospital area is still being demolished and handled by IU Health, but this section is going to be the first, really, to be available to redevelop. It's just west of Kroger, it's right on the B-Line Trail. We hope it'll have a lot of housing. It's going to have some green space, kind of a new park, even, coming off the B-Line, and all that's been designed, and first we're demolishing, and then we're going to be putting the street grid back in, and infrastructure, and then we'll be working with developers to create housing opportunities for hundreds of families.
Don Griffin:
Now, the green space is supposed to be spectacular that we're designing on this. Can you tell us a little bit about the system that they're using?
John Hamilton:
Well, so first that space was, it came through a bunch of community background and development and conversations, and developed this really pretty east-west green way, and one of the things we just learned about this is the plan to do kind of a new sophisticated tree root system, like a way to protect large trees so that even in an urban green space, they can really get great root systems. So I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what that looks like when we put that in.
Don Griffin:
Okay. This is a multi-year project.
John Hamilton:
Yes, it is.
Don Griffin:
It's incredible. It's a chance for Bloomington to show what the future of Bloomington could be, and what future areas and neighborhoods can look like. Very exciting.
John Hamilton:
We call it a new neighborhood in the heart of downtown Bloomington, and you can see it starting to come to fruition right now.
Don Griffin:
Wow, so exciting. If you, the public would love more information in regards to Hopewell, please get on our website and check it out. As always, folks, have a good one.
Learn more about Hopewell at hopewellbloomington.org.