McDoel Gardens Fall Block Party

Come and enjoy an evening with your neighbors at our annual Fall Block Party this Saturday! It's a pitch-in, so feel free to bring a dish if you want to share something (but it's not required).

When: Saturday, October 13th, 5 - 9 PM

Where: Madison Street, just south of Dodds.

See You There!!

B-Line Station Breaks Ground

      Ground has been broken on the development project at the corner of Morton and Dodds. Developer and McDoel Resident Matt Press has received permission from the City of Bloomington to name the project B-Line Station. Site work will continue until late fall, with the first buildings beginning construction in Late September. The first home should break ground in late September and be completed by March of 2013. The commercial area at the north end of the project should be completed by June of 2013. The townhome building (now called Garden Green Townhomes) should break ground in early 2013 and be completed by that fall.

Please join your neighbors for our upcoming neighborhood meeting.

McDoel Gardens neighborhood resident and Bloomington City Plan Commission member Jack Baker will be the speaker at our next meeting. He will update residents on city projects and programs affecting our neighborhood.

Thursday, August 2nd, at 6:30 PM

McDoel Baptist Church, 1008 S. Rogers St., rear entrance

Christian Zabriskie

Lifetime McDoel Gardens resident and good friend of many, Christian Zabriskie, passed away suddenly  Saturday June 30. There will be a service for Christian on Saturday, July 7, 2012 from 2-6 p.m at Deremiah Frye Mortuary Greene & Harrell Chapel at 700 West Gourley Pike, Bloomington. 

He will truly be missed by all his neighbors and everyone who knew him. 

Neighborhood clean up this Saturday, June 23

Its that time again folks. You are invited to join your neighbors on a cleanup walk around our neighborhood this Saturday, June 23rd, from 10am to noon. Trash bags and gloves will be provided. Meet up at the basement entrance of the McDoel Baptist Church (1008 S. Rogers) at 10 AM. Let's clean this place up! See you there.

B-Line Station is a go!!

GOOD NEWS!! On June 20 the Bloomington City Council approved Neighborhood Solutions' proposal for the new B-Line Station which will be located on Morton Street between Dodds Street and Allen Street. According to the website the development will encompass 12 single family home sites, two 1000-1100 sq. ft. condos, three 510-525 sq. ft. micro-condos and four 2 bedroom apartments above 3100 sq. ft of commercial spaces, which may include a restaurant. McDoel Gardens resident Matt Press is a part of Neighborhood Solutions and was responsible for the hugely popular South Dunn Street addition in the Bryan Park neighborhood. For more detailed information about the project please visit the Neighborhood Solutions website here.  

Susie Johnson to speak at next association meeting

City of Bloomington Public Works Director Susie Johnson will speak at the next neighborhood association meeting. She will discuss current projects dealing with and affecting McDoel Gardens as well as answering questions from neighbors. This is a great opportunity for residents to bring concerns to the city's attention. Come join the discussion on June 7 at 6:30pm at the McDoel Baptist Church, 1008 S. Rogers Street. Please use lower west entrance.

City Recognizes McDoel Gardens At Awards Ceremony

The City of Bloomington is holding it's annual Blooming Neighborhood Awards and Celebration even on Saturday, June 2 at the Showers Plaza Farmer's Market from 9am til noon. McDoel Gardens neighborhood will receive an award for efforts over the past year to make McDoel Gardens an even better place to live and work. Congratulations to all the residents of our neighborhood and our neighborhood association.

Pedestrian/Bike stoplight on hold....for now

        The HAWK light that was planned for the intersection of Walnut and Allen which was to be a part of the Allen Street Bicycle Boulevard, has been put on hold for now. Susie Johnson who is the director of Bloomington Public Works explained that the current bike/pedestrian refuge island that has been recently installed is only a first step.
       Depending on continued analysis and feedback additional features, like the HAWK system, may or may not be added to the intersection. According to Johnson, the incremental process was recommended by Alta Planning & Design.

       The decision was to gauge the success of the island and make changes as needed, as well as to ensure the dollars are invested effectively in the implementation of Bloomington's Greenway Implementation Plan. This strategy was supported by Public Works, Economic & Sustainable Development, and Planning. 

Switchyard Park Property Design Workshop at Convention Center

Switchyard Park Property Design Workshop May 14 2012 5:00 PM - May 14 2012 6:30 PM

Location: Bloomington Convention Center

Public input for the Switchyard Park Property master plan during an open mic session on Monday, May 14 from 5 - 6:30 p.m. at the Bloomington Convention Center.

 There will be a public presentation of the conceptual designs on Thursday, May 17 from 6 - 7 p.m. at City Hall - Showers Building. The design team will use information gathered about the Switchyard Park Property site, as well as feedback from stakeholders and community members, to create a vision for the new park design. Several design concepts will be presented for feedback on May 17.

 For more information about the Switchyard Park Property master planning process, visit the Switchyard Park Property Web Site http://www.reasite.com/live-sites/switchyard-park/project-information/ [photo courtesy of Herald Times Online]

Morton & Dodds project

Today the Herald Times reported: Development at 223 W. Dodds Street, along the B-Line Trail that includes single-family homes, condominiums, apartments and commercial space received a favorable recommendation Monday, May 7, from the Bloomington Plan Commission. The proposal calls for single-family homes to be built on 12 narrow lots, a five-unit condominium building and two mixed-use commercial buildings with a total of four second-floor apartments. The homes and the larger of the two commercial buildings will face the B-Line Trail and have sidewalk connections to it. McDoel Gardens resident and developer Matt Press said he hopes to attract a restaurant to the larger commercial building, which will resemble a circa 1900 clapboard-sided train depot. The smaller commercial structure will be built to look like a circa 1900 carriage house. The plans now to go the Bloomington City Council for its consideration. For more details on the project please follow this link to the May 7 Bloomington Plan Commission Agenda.

McDoel Switchyard Park Open House This Thursday, April 26.

The Bloomington Parks and Rec Department is looking for feedback and ideas from neighbors on the future McDoel Switchyard Park, as part of their master plan process. They will be hosting an open house this Thursday, in the City Council chambers at City Hall, in the Showers Building (401 N. Morton St.). Mid-day session: noon - 1:30 PM, Thursday, April 26th Evening session: 5:30 PM - 7 PM, Thursday, April 26th Future Opportunities to Contribute Ideas and Opinions:Wednesday, May 2nd, 10 AM - 2 PM, Senior Expo, Twin Lakes Rec Center May 12, May 19, June 2 or June 16, at the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market Monday, May 14th, 5 PM - 6:30 PM, at the Bloomington/Monroe County Convention Center The entire Switchyard Park planning process can be followed online, at www.switchyardpark.org.

Neighborhood Plant Exchange, Sunday, April 29th!

Too many day lilies? Tall grasses need dividing? Black- eyed Susans taking over? Bring your extra plants, seeds, seedlings, starts and other living things to the neighborhood plant exchange. One gardener's weed is another gardener's salad. Perennials, annuals, shrubs, berry brambles,all are welcome. Exchange plants and gardening stories and get to know your neighbors. New to gardening, and don't have anything to share? Stop by anyway. Everyone is welcome. See you there! Sunday April 29, 1-4 pm, 611 West Dodds (@fairview)

Memorial Service for Laura Shively

Laura Shively, a much loved and valued McDoel resident, passed away on March 10th. A memorial for Laura will be held on Saturday, March 24th, at 3 PM, in her private gardens at her home.

A memorial fund has been set up to help her children with estate expenses and to help with her younger son's education expenses. Donations can be made to: the Laura Shively Benevolent Fund or the Joseph Shively Education Fund, both at Key Bank, (418 S. College Mall Road, Bloomington, IN 47401).

We'll miss you, Laura.

(Photo of Laura by Michael Redman)

Morton and Dodds Project Neighborhood workshop to be held Saturday March 3rd

Property developer and McDoel Gardens resident Matt Press will be hosting a workshop with neighbors on Saturday, March 3rd , from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM, in the McDoel Baptist Church Basement. He will be seeking input from neighbors on plans to develop the property at Morton and Dodds, along the B-Line. Matt will have with him a civil engineer, an architect and a home-builder, to help with the discussions. There will be site plan drawings, conceptual drawings, and reference images for neighbors to look at and give feedback on. Light refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Matt Press at mattpress@comcast.net.

*"ImagineBloomington" to Envision the City's Planning Future

Bloomington, IN* -- Mayor Mark Kruzan announced the kickoff of ImagineBloomington, the process that will update the City's Growth Policies Plan (GPP). ImagineBloomington will ask Bloomington residents and stakeholders to look toward the future and help develop a new vision addressing important planning issues for the City. The update of the GPP is a multi-year effort designed to reflect the community's goals, values and aspirations. Public involvement will be key to the ImagineBloomington visioning process. Once established, the new vision will be used as a foundation for future decisions concerning a wide range of land use, development and planning policy issues for the community. The Growth Policies Plan, which is the City's current comprehensive plan, was last updated 10 years ago, making this the perfect time to assess progress and seek input on the future direction of Bloomington.

"ImagineBloomington is a unique and exciting opportunity for Bloomington citizens to play an integral role in defining the future of our community's planning ideals," Kruzan said. "This is a chance for us to create a common vision for Bloomington and start working together to achieve it."

ImagineBloomington will begin with a series of public workshops in locations throughout the community, with the kickoff event scheduled for 7p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at the Monroe County Public Library, Room 1B. The goal of these workshops is to gather feedback from the public in order to craft a future vision for Bloomington. There are 10 workshops scheduled for this phase of the process, and members of the public are encouraged to attend the one that best fits their schedule. Since all of the workshops will have the same format and content, there is no need to attend more than one. All workshops will start at 7p.m. and end at 8:30p.m. The full schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, February 21, Monroe County Public Library, Bloomington, Room 1B
Thursday, March 1, Bloomington High School North, Large Group Room
Tuesday, March 6, Highland Park Elementary School, Cafeteria
Thursday, March 8, University Elementary School, Cafeteria
Monday, March 19, Batchelor Middle School, Auditorium
Wednesday, March 21, Binford Elementary School, Auditorium
Tuesday, March 27, Tri-North Middle School, Auditorium
Thursday, March 29, Summit Elementary School, Cafeteria
Monday, April 2, Childs Elementary School, Cafeteria
Wednesday, April 4, Templeton Elementary School, Cafeteria

In addition to the workshops, the City will use a number of innovative input gathering tools to enhance the ImagineBloomington process. There will be a project website, as well as Facebook and Twitter pages. UserVoice, an interactive web forum tool, will be available to foster additional opportunities for public involvement. UserVoice provides a way for people, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to actively participate in topic discussions, offer feedback, submit ideas and vote on preferred options. Because ImagineBloomington is a civic engagement project, UserVoice has agreed to waive the typical service fees that are associated with the product.

A Steering Committee has been formed to help guide and assist the development of the ImagineBloomington vision statement, which will be presented to both the Plan Commission and City Council for final adoption in late 2012. The vision statement will then be utilized as a framework for updating the Growth Policies Plan, a process that will include continued Steering Committee guidance and further public input opportunities. The updated Growth Policies Plan will be presented to the Plan Commission and City Council for final adoption in late 2014.

For additional information and details regarding ImagineBloomington, or
to utilize the UserVoice interactive tool, please visit
http://www.bloomington.in.gov/imaginebloomington, or contact the
Planning Department at 812.349.3423.

Stuff is getting done!!

That's right, West Allen street still floods. Hopefully the work they are doing now will put that to an end. (Photos courtesy of Holly and David Thrasher)

Next Meeting Feb 2, Morton and Dodds development

We invite all members of McDoel Gardens to attend the next meeting at McDoel Baptist Church February 2, 6:30 pm. McDoel Gardens resident and local developer Matt Press will be there to announce his intentions to purchase and build on the property at Morton and Dodds. He is looking for feedback from the neighbors about the property. He hopes to hold a more formal design workshop with the public in about a month. More information forthcoming. Matt was responsible for the successful and popular South Dunn neighborhood development project.

Switchyard Update, bye bye Upland.

Sad news for McDoel Gardens, Upland Brewing has changed their plans for their new brewery and have decided not to move into the vacant building on Grimes lane next to the B-line trail. Instead they have decided to open shop on the far west side of Bloomington on Profile Parkway, west of Curry Pike. Doug Dayhoff, president of Upland Brewing was quoted as saying in the Herald Times, “My heart is still with the B-Line; the economics caused a change, we just got a better deal.” Upland plans to sell the building next to the B-line to Storage Express who plans on turning the property into indoor, climate controlled rental storage space.
Good news, the talks are underway for development plans for the 69 acre Switchyard Park surrounding the B-Line. On the list of factors is what to do with coal ash and cinders that blanket the park from its days as a railroad yard. The area will need to be tested for contamination levels and the city may need to remove the toxic soil. Another factor is the park lies in a flood plain. More public meetings are planned this spring and in August. The steering committee is confident that the park will go ahead as planned as soon as obstacles are dealt with.

For up to date information about the park go to http://www.switchyardpark.org

Image courtesy of Herald Times Online.