This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, May 7th, 2026.

In today’s newscast, Julia Vaughn executive director of Common Cause Indiana, discusses the impact of President Trump on Indiana’s statewide races during Tuesday’s primaries. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, the Bloomington City Council unanimously approved a planned unit development for the Hopewell South project during its meeting last night.

Hopewell South PUD wins unanimous OK from Bloomington city council

By Dave Askins

Bloomington’s plan to turn the former IU Health hospital site at 2nd and Rogers streets into a new neighborhood finally passed a big milestone Wednesday night (May 6). The city council approved the Hopewell South planned unit development (PUD).

The decision came after a couple of months of granular debate over several issues, including what “permanent affordability” should mean for the 6-acre development, south of 1st Street. The council adopted the new zoning in the PUD on a 9–0 vote, but only after just a 6–3 majority settled on a new affordability condition.

The real estate is owned by Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC). That means Hopewell South, and eventually the rest of the Hopewell development, is seen as a chance to set a high affordability standard for development in the rest of the city.

The PUD rezone was meant to allow up to 98 homes, most of them single-family dwellings, which is more than the 28 that the city’s zoning consultant said could be constructed by satisfying only objective criteria without any additional discretionary approvals.

The new affordability condition sets a floor of 35% permanently affordable units in the first phase, with an explicit goal of reaching 50%.

Only after Section 4 of the condition was struck was Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson’s administration agreeable to the condition’s approval. Section 4 said the administration would have to bring a detailed permanent-affordability enforcement and monitoring plan to the city council for approval, before any new affordability instrument is recorded or any dwelling unit in the PUD is sold.

Anna Killion-Hanson, who is Bloomington’s housing and neighborhood development (HAND) director, and the executive director of Bloomington’s RDC warned that locking in a hard 50% requirement now, before infrastructure and construction costs are fully known, could jeopardize the project’s feasibility.

Under the council’s condition, at least 35% of the roughly 98 dwellings planned for Hopewell South have to be kept permanently affordable. Within that set, at least 15% of all units have to be affordable to households earning at or below 90% of area median income (AMI), and at least 20% must be affordable to households at or below 120% of AMI.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Thomson took a turn at the public mic to respond to complaints about the amount of information and the lack of specificity in the plan for ensuring permanent affordability: “So I hear that you’re frustrated, and that the bulk of information that has been passed along may not be understood. But there has been quite extensive documentation.”

In her remarks at the meeting, Killion‑Hanson indicated her commitment to ensuring affordability of housing:

“I know what the goal is, and it’s admirable, and it’s the mission that I live every single day here, while I work for this community, to deliver affordable housing, and to think otherwise is really offensive, to be perfectly honest with you,” said Killion-Hanson.

That was the latest edition of B Square Bites – a collaboration between B Square Bulletin and WFHB. To read the full article, you can visit B Square Bulletin.

Bloomington RDC discusses potential land swap with Seminary Pointe and College Square properties

By Claire Zeyen

The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission met on May 4. The commission opened public comment concerning a potential land swap related to Seminary Pointe and College Square.

A resident, affiliated with Homes for All, spoke on the power the RDC has to support a land transfer intended to preserve affordable housing.

“We interpret this Indiana code as a means of encouragement to redevelopment commissions to find properties well suited for affordable housing projects, projects just like Seminary Pointe, a property where super affordable apartments already exist.”

RDC member Randy Cassady concluded the discussion by acknowledging that the property remains under CIB ownership and suggested tenants work with the board to pursue lease extensions while negotiations continue.

The next Bloomington RDC meeting is scheduled for May 18th.

Featured Segments:

In today’s feature report, WFHB News speaks with Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, who provides analysis of Primary Election Day. Vaughn noted increased turnout in some areas but overall low participation. She says Indiana saw significant spending by dark money organizations against Republican senators who opposed Trump, totaling $13.5 million. For a breakdown of what this means for Indiana voters, we turn to News Director Kade Young.

And now, we turn to WFHB Sports Correspondent Chase Dodson who brings you today’s Sports News Briefing – a rundown of local, state and national sports news. That’s coming up next on WFHB.

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