This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, August 5th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, Mayor Kerry Thomson outlines budget challenges and city priorities at a Traveling Town hall on Monday night.

Also coming up in the next half hour, “Don’t Let Crooks Captcha You” on Better Beware – your weekly consumer-watchdog segment on the WFHB Local News. We turn to host and producer Richard Fish for more.

Two teams pitch competing visions for Bloomington’s College Square development

By Ben Sharpe

Two development teams pitched their plans Monday for the future of Bloomington’s College Square site, a key parcel connecting the new convention center with downtown.

The first proposal, from Concord, TWG, Ratio and Shield Sexton, would build a 160-room hotel alongside mixed-income housing. The team proposed a four-million-dollar land swap with the Capital Improvement Board and estimated the project would require about twelve million dollars in public subsidy.

Ratio Design’s Adam Thies said the proposal would include affordable housing along the B-Line Trail.

“We think that there are 27 units that would be low-to-moderate income units that would be included in this development, and it would be right along the B-Line Trail,” said Thies.

The competing proposal, submitted by Dora and Partners, calls for a 135-room hotel, 80 to 100 market-rate housing units, retail space and a pedestrian promenade linking College Avenue to the B-Line Trail.

Unlike the first proposal, Dora and Partners said they would purchase the property for one million dollars and seek a five-million-dollar Tax Increment Financing incentive, with no additional public subsidy.

Developer Travis Spencel said the housing would be aimed at residents rather than students.

“We’re just not going to be able to meet the affordability definition of a for-sale product from a market standpoint, if we’re leasing these units,” said Spencel. “We’re going to be designing them to that scale, and so we believe that they would be leasing also market rate, which is slightly above the affordable rate.”

Spencel also said downtown Bloomington lacks market-rate housing that’s not geared toward students.

“We think there’s a real need for that in Bloomington’s downtown. We don’t have a whole lot of market-rate apartments that aren’t associated with student properties,” he said.

Dora and Partners also hinted at plans outside the College Square proposal, saying they’re exploring affordable housing on the city’s south side to replace units that will be lost through upcoming demolitions.

During public comment, Bloomington resident Audrey Smith questioned whether downtown needs another hotel at all.

“How many hotels do we need? That’s my question. And who are we making space for in downtown Bloomington?” asked Smith.

The commission took no action on either proposal Monday.

Commissioners will evaluate both submissions before selecting a development team for the College Square project.

Thomson outlines budget challenges, city priorities at Traveling Town hall

By Kade Young

Mayor Kerry Thomson said the city faces a new financial reality as declining revenues force city officials to rethink how they fund services and future projects.

During a town hall at the Banneker Center on Monday night, Thomson acknowledged the city’s budgetary challenges, saying Bloomington expects to lose roughly 30 million dollars annually over the next several year due to state tax changes.

“We are really focused on essential city services. What can can the municipal government uniquely do?” said Thomson. “We are committed to doing things like keeping our streets up and running, making sure your water is clean and your trash gets picked up, and that we’re seeking balance in all of those things.”

Even with financial constraints, the mayor highlighted several accomplishments, which included accreditation for the public works department, police recertification and a 7 million dollar grant supporting affordable artist studios.

“We’re really proud of them,” said Thomson.

Thomson also defended her position to keep Kirkwood Avenue open after vetoing the city council’s effort to close the corridor to vehicle traffic.

“We’re just not ready yet,” she said. “That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to close it in the future. It means that if we do it and when we do it, we need to put some some significant investments into doing it right so it’s safe for everyone.”

Thomson maintains housing and homelessness remain a top priority. She announced the launch of Streets to Stability, a new initiative that pairs enforcement with housing resources.

“The plan is month by month to increase that that area of downtown where sleeping is not allowed, and to get people who are sleeping outside inside,” said the mayor.

Another major topic centered around the city’s development process. Interim Planning and Transportation Director Lynn Coyne says one of his first priorities is making permitting faster.

“What we’re going to do is we’re moving toward what we call concurrent processing, and with the help of our consultant, the engineering firm, and the help of information technology services at the city who are terrific, we have a software in place,” said Coyne.

Coyne says this new system should be operating by November. Later in the evening, Thomson said future investments, including improvements on Kirkwood, will be evaluated on more than just their upfront costs.

“I envision working not only with the council but importantly with the public on how on getting input for that corridor plan, and then trying to find a best-case scenario for Kirkwood – whatever that may be – for all of the people who live here and want to live here,” said Thomson.

The Thomson administration’s budget proposal moves forward to the city council for a series of public budget hearings later this month.

Meanwhile, Thomson says traveling town halls will continue every other month, with one-on-one traveling office hours scheduled in between.

Featured Segments:

Now it’s time for “What the Health?!” – a segment from Youth Radio where host Winnie Dong explores the realities of working in healthcare. This episode features licensed clinical social worker Lindsay Potts, who reflects on nearly 20 years in behavioral health. She discusses her work on Senate Bill 1 in 2023, which established the 988 crisis response system and expanded mobile crisis teams to 90% of counties in Indiana. Potts also talks about the transition of Community Clinic Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHCs) from grant-funded to self-sustaining models through federal demonstration participation.

Up next, “Don’t Let Crooks Captcha You” on Better Beware – your weekly consumer-watchdog segment on the WFHB Local News. We turn to host and producer Richard Fish for more.

Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Ben Sharpe and Kade Young, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
Our feature was produced by Winnie Dong from WFHB’s Youth Radio.
Better Beware is produced by Richard Fish.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.
Anchors are Kade Young and Jaimmie Ford.