WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Members of the Bloomington Plan Commission reviewed and approved plans for the construction of a new Fourth Street parking garage this past Monday evening after seeing the presentation for the new design at their meeting. Construction is due to begin around August 3 and will last 12 months. Opening day is expected to be on August 13, 2021 10 days before Indiana University begins their fall semester that year.
The new design was proposed by CSO Architects. It includes the area of the former garage as well as the property south.
The original Fourth Street Garage, built in 1985, was determined structurally unsound and unsafe for use by structural engineers in 2018. On January 1, 2019 the garage was closed to public parkers. City Council eventually voted to tear down the deteriorated garage and replace it with a more environmentally sustainable one.
Demolition of the garage began in September of 2019 while designs were made for a replacement garage that would exceed the capacity for parking than the previous one. However, the Monroe County Circuit Court Judge denied the City on acquiring property outside of the original space and construction was temporarily halted.
The conflict of expansion involved the property on 222 S. Walnut St owned by Juan Carlos Carrasquel for his business JuanSells.com Realty Co. Carrasuqel’s business is just south of the site. In September of 2018, the City staff met with Carrasquel to discuss plans involving his property. Carrasquel purchased the property for $500,000 in April 2018.
On May 8 of 2019, the City staff and property owner discussed terms for purchasing the property from Carrasquel for $587,500. Carrasquel rejected the offer, proposing a value of $1.5 million instead.
During the summer of 2019, the City filed a petition in the Monroe County Circuit Court to acquire the property through eminent domain, however, the Judge denied the petition, stating that the garage plan included commercial use and therefore would not be used completely for public purposes.
Other issues came from the presentation of the design including the height of the building and some details of the structure. The maximum height of buildings in the city is currently 40 feet, however, the garage model shows a standard of 79 feet with the top-level at 90 ft. Another issue was the entrances being too close to the intersections of 4th and Walnut street.
The plans for the new garage include more than 500 parking spaces, indoor and outdoor bicycle parking, electric charging stations, public restrooms, lockers, and commercial space on the ground level. The design is .7 square acres and seven stories tall. The commercial space provides 6,750 square feet.
The building plan also includes a series of aluminum paneled structures that designer Sean Starowitz calls “Urban Fabric”. Starowitz explained at the meeting that the art was a part of Project One Studio based in Indianapolis and that 1% of the total budget from the garage plan would go towards local public art commissions.
The building would receive a Parksmart certification for sustainability from its design and inclusion of 75% or more materials regionally sourced. This would be one of the first Parksmart garages in the state of Indiana.
The City voted to approve the building design with the following recommendations for improvement. Bicycle parking would need to be included, the building should have a decent amount of lighting for visibility, windows on certain parts of the structure should be added, and lastly, the building should be treated for the placement of art installation on the concrete sides.
Members of the public have shown both support and concern for the new design. Many of the surrounding businesses of Fourth street work closely with how much parking is available and saw a drop in numbers when the garage closed down, so they are in agreement with the new garage.
