City to Cut Ribbon on Trades District Garage

WHAT: Mayor John Hamilton invites the press and the public to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the Trades District Garage. The event will include remarks by the mayor and other local leaders, tours of the new facility, and an opportunity to contribute to the public artwork commissioned for it. The ribbon-cutting will be held in keeping with current public health protocols for physical distancing and face covering. 

WHO: Mayor Hamilton, Bloomington Redevelopment Commission (BRC) member Cindy Kinnarney and CFC President Jim Murphy will provide remarks. Members of the project team will offer tours, and artist Esteban Garcia Bravo will lead a workshop for community members to design tiles for the artwork “Aurora Almanac” to be installed in the facility’s stairwells in the second half of the year. 

WHEN: Saturday, April 17 at 10 a.m.

WHERE: The Trades District Garage is located just south of West Tenth Street between the Showers City Hall building and the B-Line Trail, just east of North Rogers Street. Event parking is available in the gravel lot at Tenth and Rogers, with parking in the facility available after the ceremony.  

WHY: The Trades District Garage was approved for development by the BRC and City Council to support the city’s newest employment hub and cultural destination. The 350-space garage featuring commercial/retail space facing the B-Line Trail will complement the Trades District’s burgeoning business activity at The Mill, the Kiln (future office and commercial space) and additional sites in development, for which Bloomington is being recognized as Indiana’s Rising Tech City. Equipped with electric vehicle charging stations and a solar array, the Trades District Garage and the replacement Fourth Street Garage (scheduled to open this August) will be the first in Indiana to achieve Parksmart certification, a sustainability credential. The garage will feature artwork funded through the One Percent for the Arts Ordinance.   

More information about monthly or annual parking at the Trades District Garage is available online at Monthly Garage Parking Permits and Parking Garage Information | City of Bloomington, Indiana, through the Garage Customer Service Representatives during regular business hours at 812-369-3622, or through the Parking Customer Service Office at 812-349-3436. Inquiries about leasing commercial space in the Trades Garage may be made through the City’s Economic and Sustainable Development department, at 812-349-3418.  More information is available at https://bloomington.in.gov/transportation/parking/trades.