Bloomington to unveil bicentennial gateway designs

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) – Officials in Bloomington on Tuesday will unveil preliminary designs for the city’s gateway project.

Announced last year as part of the Bloomington’s bicentennial, the project will create at least three signature gateways to the city.

Indianapolis-based landscape architecture firm Rundell Ernstberger Associates (REA) will make two presentations. The first will be during the city’s Board of Park Commissioners meeting, followed by the second at a public open house. Both presentations will be at Bloomington’s City Hall.

The city says the designs will include the proposed size, construction materials, themes, graphic features and architectural and landscape elements. REA plans to collect feedback from the board, as well as the public, and use it to refine the proposed designs and develop cost options for each gateway location.

“Gateways are a way Bloomington can celebrate its unique sense of place, reinforce the pride we take in our hometown, and welcome folks to town, whether they’re visiting for the first time, or coming back home,” Mayor John Hamilton said in a news release. “We encourage residents to weigh in on the draft designs so that these gateways are infused with our community spirit.”

The gateways are being funded through the city’s 2018 Bicentennial Bond Fund. The preliminary locations for the gateways include Bloomfield Road next to the Twin Lakes Sports Park, the Arlington Heights bridge near the I-69 interchange at State Road 46, and at Miller-Showers Park along State Road 46 on the city’s north side.

The Board of Park Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the open house is slated to run from 6-7 p.m. Both presentations will be in the council chambers inside City Hall. The preliminary conceptual designs will also be available for review online at 8 a.m. Wednesday.