IU to sell buildings downtown to help city’s tech park

With IU looking to sell its properties near the downtown Bloomington area, the city could be looking to develop its technology park.\nAt the board of trustees meeting last Thursday at IU Northwest in Gary, IU made the first step toward selling the buildings by announcing the properties downtown as surplus.\nThere are three buildings downtown specifically targeted to be sold and relocated to the IU campus. These buildings include the press, publications and food service buildings. The IU properties stretch from vacant property west of Rogers Street to parts of the old Showers Brothers furniture factory used for inventory and storage. The IU Research Park in the renovated Showers complex could be included among the properties. \nIU will begin sending out requests for proposals to allow purchase of the property in addition to appraisals for the minimum cost IU can accept for the properties.\nFor the city, the chance to buy the property IU sells will allow the technology park to flourish.\n“We view it as a real opportunity to have the surrounding (area) develop as a technology business as well as supporting retail and residential services to people who might work in the technology park,” Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan said. \nKruzan said this is a long-term plan that will allow IU to move their support service facilities and locate them on campus so newer buildings can be built in place.\n“This ends up being a benefit to the University and the community,” Kruzan said.\nWhat is special is that the University properties are home to 11 acres in the “heart” of the 66-acre technology park, Kruzan said. The technology park allows for businesses that locate there to have their property, income and sales tax “captured,” and then reinvested in the technology.\n“It is an economic development tool to improve both business and infrastructure in the downtown,” Kruzan said.\nWhen IU sells its properties downtown, it will open up 11 acres to contribute to the technology park. \nRon Walker, president of the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, said it has been expected for some time that IU will sell these properties. When the city applied for certification of the technology park designation, IU eventually selling the properties was taken into consideration, he said.\nWhen the property is sold, the city will work with private developers and the state government to create employment in the area to assist the city and the businesses in downtown Bloomington, Walker said.\n“It’s a great opportunity to create new jobs downtown, and we think that (the technology park) is an attractive place for entrepreneurship,” Walker said.