Intergroup tables proposed student housing complex

The boarded and vacant building on College Ave. and Eighth Street won't be developed anytime soon.\nA Florida developer has tabled its proposal to build a student apartment complex downtown -- for the moment. It plans to go back to the drawing board to work out financial issues.\n"We're very disappointed," said Nathan Hadley, executive assistant for economic development. "We'd like to see a private developer step in and transform this eyesore into something that will contribute to the downtown. \n"We'll find a way to make this work."\nIntergroup Realty Trust originally proposed to build a nine-story apartment complex at the long-abandoned ST Semicon site, just across from city hall. As originally proposed, it would have housed more than 800 students.\nWhile the proposal had the backing of the mayor's office, several city and county officials bristled at its size and potential parking problems. So Intergroup scaled back the proposal to a four-story, 470-bedroom structure.\nIntergroup specializes in student housing, and it has built sprawling three-story structures in North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Illinois. The Bloomington project would have marked a turn toward urban infill projects.\nBut Intergroup wasn't sure if it could turn a profit from the modified proposal, project engineer Steve Smith of local firm Smith & Neubecker said. \n"They're working very hard to make it work," he said. "Bloomington has a good market, and they just want to carefully review the numbers. The numbers just weren't working."\nSmith also said setbacks made it seem unlikely that the project would have been finished by the 2002-03 school year, as Intergroup had hoped.\n"Obviously, timing is important with a project like this," he said. "It has to be open in the fall."\nBloomington Plan Director Tom Micuda said he didn't know if the project will ever see the light of day. \n"They scaled it down to reflect what a lot of people had expressed concern about," he said. "It's now more typical of the downtown. But it remains to be seen if both sides can come together on this."\nIntergroup will return with another proposal in a few months, Smith said. It will likely seek a tax abatement.