South Loop District Plan Update

UPDATE 11-12-2024

Staff has completed the first group of study sessions, all held within October. City bodies engaged during this phase of the update project include the following:

• Creative Placemaking Commission (Wednesday October 2, 2024)
• Planning Commission (Thursday October 10, 2024)
• Port Authority (Tuesday October 15,2024)
• Sustainability (Tuesday October 15, 2024)
• City Council (Monday October 28, 2024)

The staff report and exhibits presented at each commission meeting can be found within the October 28, 2024, City Council agenda packet. Skip to page 210 of the linked PDF. The October 28, 2024, City Council can be viewed by clicking here.

At these meetings, staff proposed an approach to drafting the updates. Recognizing the available resources and time to complete the project, staff developed a framework for prioritizing updates that would make the most positive impact. Those priority update areas are the following:

1. Updating Parks and Open Space Framework
2. Transportation updates (street design, bike facility expansion, etc.)
3. Updated/clarified development goals/guidance by area
4. Streetscapes, plazas, and other public spaces (amend or remove)
5. Sustainability

You can read more detail of each priority area in the staff report found in the October 24 City Council agenda packet. Each commission affirmed this framework and provided feedback that will guide updates to policy-related matters.

Next steps for the project are to begin drafting those updates and present them at another group of study sessions tentatively scheduled to occur December and January 2025.

The original Plan recognized the importance of the district in the growth of Bloomington and the success of the region. It identified the South Loop as a center for business and employment with its connection to the Twin Cities metropolitan area by adjacent freeways and convenient transit, and to global centers via direct flights from the nearby Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Another feature of the South Loop District highlighted in the 2012 Plan is the area’s proximity to natural resources and easy access to recreational amenities. Combined with growing residential opportunities and dining and entertainment options, the South Loop has all the ingredients for a thriving live-work-play environment for thousands of additional new residents.

The 2024 Update will build off the momentum of the original plan and continue the success of the District. The Update will account for the many changes over the previous 12 years, which includes examining and accounting for the most up-to-date demographics of residents, shifts in the development and real estate markets, and completed and future infrastructure and utility investments. With this data, the update will reconsider the district vision and planned land uses and other public investments.