City Awards Three Neighborhood Improvement Grants

Bloomington, Ind.–The City of Bloomington Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) is pleased to announce three recipients of the 2023 Neighborhood Improvement Grant. Awardees are: the Bloomington Housing Authority Resident Council (BHARC), the Prospect Hill Neighborhood Association, and the Woodlands Winding Brook Homeowners Association.

The Bloomington Housing Authority Resident Council (BHARC) was awarded $6,410 to refurbish two playgrounds, in the Rev. Butler and Walnut Woods communities. Updates include border replacement, power washing of current equipment, and installation of new signage and mulch.

The Prospect Hill Neighborhood Association was awarded $12,590 to hire restoration professionals to repair Rose Hill Cemetery headstones and monuments too difficult/fragile/large for volunteers to handle. In addition, restoration professionals will offer a three-hour public workshop to teach headstone restoration techniques and skills.

The Woodlands-Winding Brook HOA was awarded $11,000 for the first phase of a project to convert an obsolete retention pond into a bioretention area, which will include stormwater mitigation features, native plantings, and community gathering spaces.  

The Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program is designed to enhance the quality of life within neighborhoods and in the city as a whole, by giving residents an opportunity to have direct input in the improvement of their neighborhoods.  The funds provide for neighborhood-driven projects with community-wide benefit. Applications are reviewed by a five-member council, made up of two City staffers, two at-large neighborhood association members, and one commissioner from the Redevelopment Commission (RDC). The council makes funding recommendations to the RDC, who ultimately determines the allocation of funds.

For more information about this and other grant programs for Bloomington neighborhoods, please visit bton.in/ckXcr or contact Angela Van Rooy, HAND Neighborhood Services Program Manager at angela.vanrooy@bloominton.in.gov or 812-349-3505.