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Board approves variances for proposed downtown convention center site
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a package of variances for the Monroe County Capital Improvement Board’s proposed convention center at the south edge of downtown, allowing deviations from build‑to, facade articulation and driveway standards because of the building’s large, civic function and site constraints.
The Bloomington Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan. 23 approved a set of variances requested by the Monroe County Capital Improvement Board for a proposed convention center on a 1.7‑acre site at the south edge of downtown between College and Walnut streets.
Jackie Salmon, development services manager, and planning staff described the proposal as a roughly 55,000‑square‑foot conference and convention center whose primary interior feature is a two‑story, roughly 30,000‑square‑foot great hall. Because of the building’s scale and programmatic need for large uninterrupted interior space, staff said portions of the design cannot meet several UDO standards for the downtown overlay, including build‑to range on the Walnut Street frontage (the building sits about two feet off the property line), second‑story historic window proportions and façade articulation module offsets.
Staff also described driveway and landscape variance requests. The project needs a wide loading driveway for semi‑trailer access and submitted a truck‑turning exhibit showing a driveway width of nearly 44 feet, larger than the usual UDO maximum (24 feet) and the city‑engineer discretionary allowance (up to 34 feet). Staff recommended two conditions in the report and added a third condition to clarify landscape alternatives if underground utilities prevent planting the code‑required number of large street trees.
Bill Riggert and Eddie Leighton, representing the Capital Improvement Board, said project designers and engineers worked with utilities providers and the city to minimize nonconformities. Riggert said the team continues coordination on water‑meter and utility details that could affect tree locations along College Avenue.
The board moved to adopt the staff findings and approved the variance package with the three listed conditions. Planning commission review and final site‑plan approvals remain required before construction; the petitioner said the project is slated to bid this summer with construction expected to take about two years once started.
