BLOOMINGTON − Two words – affordable housing – dominate discussions about the livability of Bloomington.
Resident T Randall resides at the heart of the debate. As local politicians lament the city’s high rents and promise to address the crisis, the 26-year-old Indiana University bus driver has three months to find a new place to live.
Five years after moving to Seminary Pointe, 29 simple apartments spread among three buildings at Second Street and College Avenue, his lease is expiring. Randall got notice in February he must be out of his downtown residence by July 7.
He pays $600 a month for a studio apartment. A 2-bedroom goes for $650. These are not typical downtown Bloomington rent prices, which are often twice that or more.
The county owns the buildings, purchased 15 years ago with $2.5 million in innkeeper’s tax money. The land, a stone’s throw from the city’s proposed Hopewell affordable housing community, was earmarked for future expansion of the nearby convention center.
Maintaining the low-rent apartments there was never in the mix. Tearing them down when the time came was always the plan.
The time has arrived.
But in the intervening years, residents appreciated the ability to afford downtown living. The apartments are older, not fancy. They have experienced roofing issues and heating and cooling challenges. But they’re safe, maintained and within walking distance of stores, jobs and bus stops.
“They are fine apartments.” Randall said. “I’ve been in a lot worse places before.”
He lives a few blocks from the core of downtown. There’s a Kroger across the street, a nearby international market and he’s close enough to work to ride his bicycle.
Affordable housing ‘must remain a priority’
Randall spoke at two county meetings last month to express concern over the loss of affordable downtown housing for his neighbors and himself.
During a March 12 meeting, Monroe County commissioner Jody Madeira acknowledged the value of the apartments while admitting the reality they can’t be saved because the site is designated for the convention center.
“Every loss of existing residential units matters, especially when they serve as affordable housing. We can’t ignore that reality,” she said. “Preserving and expanding affordable housing must remain a priority for everybody.”
Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson cites making housing affordable as one of her key goals. During a WFIU “Ask the Mayor” segment in April 2025, she mentioned benefits of diversifying downtown’s population beyond IU students.
“I’m really interested in finding ways to incentivize the kind of housing where we have people who can live close to downtown, really a spectrum of people,” she said, “because we’ve spent a lot of resources and invited a lot of new development for student housing, and I think we’ve satiated that now.”
Randall hears them talking and shakes his head. The elected officials sound sincere, yet he stands by as the housing stability he and his neighbors enjoy gets upended by a convention center for visitors that will replace affordable living for local residents.
Demolition plans loom
Randall knew in 2021 when he moved to Seminary Pointe there were plans to demolish the apartments. He said that later, he heard the plans weren’t so definite and after that, no one knew for sure what was going to happen.
Rents remained stable and the convention center expansion initiative stalled for years.
“It became very unclear and a lot of my neighbors didn’t know the convention center plans,” Randall said. “We were surprised when we got notice because people had been hearing things and were calling the property manager since November.”
He said the owner of a businesses in the complex had just signed a one-year lease renewal, so residents thought they had more time. “He had something in writing with the county that they had to give him a year’s notice, and we thought that’s not the kind of thing you sign if you are going to move people out.”
Randall is leery of promises the county will assist Seminary Pointe residents and relocate them to similar housing with comparable rent. “No one has heard anything,” he said, about viable options.
The Monroe County Apartment Association sent a letter to residents offering “to assist you with your housing search and make the process a bit easier.”
The letter says two local property management companies, Brawley and Granite, have agreed to waive application fees, help with background checks and delay security deposit payments.
The letter refers residents to Heading Home, an organization focused on homelessness that might help pay rent and utility deposits.
They also received a list of where to go for rent and utility payment assistance. Locations include the Salvation Army, township trustee offices and 11 local churches.
Randall said the political wrangling is upsetting and irony filled. “It’s 29 apartments. Where are you going to get 29 units like this for $600? It all seems very unwise. That’s 60 to 70 people forced to move.”
He said amid so much talk about the lack of housing, “here we are with everybody being pushed out of downtown. It seems counterintuitive to destroy housing where people can afford to live for a project that’s not for people in town, but tourists.”
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at [email protected] or 812-318-5967.