Bloomington’s Newest Workforce Housing Neighborhood to be Dedicated

On Friday, October 13th at 1 p.m, Mayor John Hamilton; Council Member Stephen Volan; Trinitas Ventures CEO, Loren King; and Director of Real Estate Development, Bloomington Housing Authority, Nathan Ferreira, will dedicate 45 “shovel ready” lots slated for workforce housing development.

Workforce housing is aimed toward families and individuals whose income generally is higher than what qualifies for much federally subsidized affordable housing, but still face challenges affording market-rate housing. Typically this means household income that lies between 80% and 120% of the area median income (AMI).

The Atlas on 17th development was approved in March 2020 by the Bloomington City Council and Mayor John Hamilton, through Ordinance 20-04. The overall site is approximately 41 acres with a total of 334 units and with an additional 45 lots ready for development. Based on the new zoning district of R4, Residential Urban, these lots will allow single family, duplex, and triplex housing types and are consistent with traditional pre-World War II neighborhoods that incorporate mixed housing types, alleys, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs).  

“Over the past eight years Bloomington has added hundreds of units of workforce rental housing. With the Atlas on 17th development, we’re focusing on home ownership opportunities for qualifying families and individuals,” said Mayor John Hamilton. “This neighborhood is an exciting mix of housing types and styles, and we’re delighted to join the robust partnerships that are making this happen.”

The land trust, Summit Hill Community Development Corporation, will oversee development. Habitat for Humanity and Clear Creek Homes have partnered with Summit Hill to build homes in the coming months. Bloomington Transit expanded Route 10 to include bus service to the area. 

“The Atlas on 17th development is a great example of a public-private partnership where Trinitas Ventures helped to expand Bloomington Transit bus service to the site and donated 45 lots to Summit Hill Community Development Corporation, a land trust that will oversee development of the neighborhood." said Council Member Stephen Volan. “Denser, walkable housing like this makes transit service to it viable. And this denser, walkable, all-electric development served by transit is a model for the affordable housing our community needs so badly, and for the climate-friendlier housing the world needs so badly.” 

The Atlas on 17th neighborhood will be dedicated with a ribbon cutting on Friday, October 13th at 1 p.m., rain or shine. The event will take place at the intersection of N Telluride St and N Breckenridge Rd off of W Arlington Rd. All are welcome.

“This new neighborhood will offer a number of different housing types that will target a wide range of household incomes,” explained Nathan Ferreira.  Loren King, Trinitas Ventures CEO, said the Atlas on 17th development reflects a commitment to a range of housing for the community. “More and more, we build student, multi-family and workforce housing into our developments, and Atlas is a great example of how we can mix housing types and get great results.”