This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, August 4th, 2026.

In today’s broadcast, a longtime Bloomington gathering place has officially closed its doors. The Orbit Room has become known for live music, community events and its unique atmosphere downtown. WFHB News brings you a special feature report on why the venue is closing and what its loss means for Bloomington.

Also coming up in the next half hour, find out four ways you can get involved in your community on the latest edition of “Volunteer Connection” in partnership with the Bloomington Volunteer Network.

Dora, Concord pitch rival College Square projects; Bloomington RDC mulls decision

By Dave Askins

This is panorama taken from the vicinity of 3rd Street and College Avenue in the parking lot of the College Square property. (Dave Askins, Aug. 3, 2026)Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) heard competing plans Monday (Aug. 3) for redevelopment of College Square, at the corner of College Avenue and 4th Street. But no decision was made on Monday.

A decision won’t come any sooner than the RDC’s Sept. 7 meeting. That’s because the next regular meeting for the RDC, on Aug. 17, falls inside a 30-day window that starts after the opening of bids, which took place on July 20. Inside of that 30-day window, the RDC can’t accept an offer that is less than the average of two appraisals of the real estate, which was $7.59 million.

Something the two proposals have in common is the price the respective developers are willing to pay for the property, which is $4 million.

But the presentations underscored a big difference between the proposals. Concord Hospitality’s plan for mixed-income housing on CIB-controlled property south of the convention center and a hotel at College Square, depends on cooperation from the Monroe County capital improvement board (CIB).

And that would mean backtracking by the CIB on a choice it has already made for development of a host hotel with Dora Hospitality south of the existing convention center. The host hotel is meant to support the convention center expansion which is well underway between College Avenue and Walnut Street on the south side of 3rd Street.

In contrast, Dora Hospitality described its College Square development as a stand-alone project that does not require any further coordination with the CIB. But Dora sees its proposed College Square hotel as complementing the convention center host hotel it is now negotiating with the CIB to build south of the existing convention center.

Still, the Concord team, which includes RATIO Design, made an undaunted pitch. Speaking for the team, RATIO Design’s Adam Thies, a former CIB member, said, “This site is basically the gap in the smile of that downtown. And filling that gap, I think, with a really strong sense of arrival and a really strong sense of a compelling hotel product, really helps to bridge those visitors that will be at the convention center, getting them to come up into the courthouse square, which I think is really the kind of crown jewel of the downtown.”

After the meeting, RDC executive director Anna Killion-Hanson told The B Square the RDC would consider both proposals in good faith.

That was the latest edition of B Square Bites – a collaboration between B Square Bulletin and WFHB. To read the full article, you can visit B Square Bulletin and look for the headline: “Dora, Concord pitch rival College Square projects; Bloomington RDC mulls decision.”

Featured Segments:

Local favorite Busman’s Holiday performs at Orbit Room on their last day of business (Photo by Jar Turner).For nearly a decade, the Orbit Room has been more than a bar. It’s been a music venue, a gathering place and a home for Bloomington arts. Last Sunday, the Orbit Room shut its doors. In today’s feature report, WFHB News Director Kade Young chronicles the Orbit Room’s final days – what made the venue special, why it’s closing and what comes next. That’s coming up in a special feature on the WFHB Local News.

Up next, we have Volunteer Connection on the WFHB Local News in collaboration with the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network, highlighting four ways you can get involved in Bloomington. We turn to hosts Aubrey Seader and Claire Zeyen for more.

Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Dave Askins of the B Square Bulletin produced B Square Bites.
Our feature was produced by Kade Young.
Aubrey Seader produced Volunteer Connection in partnership with the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.
Anchors are Jim Odom and Ben Sharpe.