Bloomington to consider pair of large housing developments including State Farm’s old headquarters
BLOOMINGTON (25News Now) - Facing demolition about six years ago, Downtown Bloomington’s tallest building is slated to be converted into a $68 million mixed-use development to help ease the city’s housing crunch.
A second redevelopment agreement presented to the city council Monday night calls for construction of 210 “market rate” apartments as part of a $41.5 million project at the site of the former GTE/Verizon offices in the 1300 block of East Empire.
State Farm announced in July of 2019 that it would knock down its downtown headquarters, but Rockford-based Urban Equity Properties, which has a history of revitalizing historic structures, bought the property later that year. Now, the company has presented its plans to the city.
They intend to build 183 residential units, ground-floor retail space, and a “destination” restaurant on the 13th floor.
The former State Farm headquarters was built in 1929 and was the insurer’s headquarters until 1974. State Farm continued to use the building until 2018.
The other development on East Empire would include a mix of studio to three-bedroom units in seven, three-story buildings. There would also be green space, a dog park, indoor and surface parking, and on-site leasing and management.
The developer is Holladay Properties, based on South Bend, Indiana. This would be the company’s first project in Bloomington.
You can watch 25News - any newscast, anywhere - streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app, and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn more about how you can get connected to 25News streaming live news here.
Copyright 2025 WEEK. All rights reserved.
