Dear Members of the Bloomington City Council,

As Realtors, housing professionals, and Bloomington residents actively engaged in our local market, we strongly support the Hopewell Development Project and urge the Council to allow the proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) to move forward without further delay.

Bloomington is facing a well-documented housing affordability crisis. More than 60% of renter households and nearly 30% of homeowner households are cost-burdened, vacancy rates remain extremely low, and housing costs continue to outpace wages—particularly for non-student households.[1] At the same time, much of the recent housing supply has been geared toward student rentals, leaving young professionals, families, and essential workers with limited and shrinking paths to homeownership.[2] This imbalance is not sustainable.

Hopewell directly addresses this gap. It advances the City’s adopted goals of walkability, sustainability, equity, and connectivity as outlined in the Hopewell Master Plan.[3] The project delivers “missing middle” housing—townhomes, duplexes, cottage courts, and small multiplexes—that fit neighborhood scale while reducing per-unit costs.[4] It also represents an efficient reuse of previously developed land and is intentionally designed as a Pilot PUD to serve as a replicable model for future infill development.[5]

What is increasingly difficult to reconcile, however, is the continued resistance to this project despite extensive analysis, expert input, and clear alignment with adopted policy. At a certain point, repeated delays begin to resemble obstruction rather than due diligence. When proposals that follow approved plans and address documented community needs are consistently stalled, it raises legitimate concerns about whether decisions are being driven by policy or by politics.

The consequences of inaction are clear. Each delay further constrains housing supply, increases costs, and limits access to homeownership—the primary pathway to long-term wealth-building for most American households.[6] Regulatory outcomes that effectively restrict residents to rental-only options, intentionally or not, perpetuate inequities by limiting access to stability and equity.

Hopewell is not a departure from Bloomington’s vision—it is an opportunity to implement it. Through the City’s partnership with Flintlock LAB, the project introduces a locally driven development model that empowers small- and mid-sized builders, reduces costs and timelines, and maintains design quality.[7] It offers a practical, data-informed solution to a crisis already affecting Bloomington residents.

We urge the Council to move beyond continued obstruction and take action that reflects the City’s stated goals by approving the Hopewell PUD as proposed.

Respectfully,

Indiana Uplands Realtor Association

Local Realtors and Concerned Citizens of Bloomington & Monroe County

Footnotes

[1] City of Bloomington HAND (2025); Flintlock LAB (2025); Indiana Economic Digest (2025)

[2] City of Bloomington Hopewell Materials (2026)

[3] City of Bloomington, Hopewell Master Plan (2021)

[4] Bloomington Planning Department (2019); Missing Middle Housing (2026)

[5] U.S. EPA Smart Growth Program (2023); City of Bloomington Climate Action Plan (2023)

[6] Federal Reserve; Urban Institute

[7] Flintlock LAB Proposal (2025)