Historic Bloomington bank on Kirkwood could become boutique hotel

Plans for a historic downtown Bloomington bank building have changed. Developers have scrapped their idea for apartments and now want to add a fifth floor and turn the structure into a boutique hotel.

Described by one former city official as an “ugly duckling,” The Peoples State Bank building, at 200 E. Kirkwood Ave., will largely be preserved thanks to a recent designation as historically notable.

Last summer, the owner, Elliot Lewis, of Bloomington-based ER Lewis & Co., put forth plans to add a third and fourth floor, build an addition in the surface parking lot south of the bank and turn the structure into apartments. Now he plans to add a “stepped back” fifth floor and turn the structure into a hotel.

The first floor is to house an “amenity space,” primarily a restaurant and bar, according to filings with the city.

Architect Tim Cover, principal with Indianapolis-based Studio 3 Design, said in the filings the new plans would require “significantly less demolition” to the historic building shell. “The … modification removes the previous need to remove a large portion of the East wall,” he wrote.

The building would have an outdoor patio on the fourth floor intended as a multipurpose space for lounging, outdoor events and exercise classes.

The Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the updated designs and recommended that the Bloomington Board of Zoning Appeals approve the developer’s request for an exception to local building rules to allow the fifth floor.

Notable for architecture, historic significance

The commission got involved in the project because the owner initially planned to demolish the building, but it is on the city’s list of historic sites and structures, which triggered an HPC review. The Bloomington City Council gave the building the designation “notable” based on a recommendation by the HPC.

According to an HPC report, the building was opened in 1961 and was formerly known as the Bloomington National Savings and Loan Association. The association originally was at 100 S. College Ave., facing the courthouse, where it had served the community since the turn of the century.

It moved four blocks to East Kirkwood Avenue in 1961 into the building that still exists today. It was designed by Indianapolis-based Monical and Wolverton, which, according to the HPC, "specialized primarily in institutional and public work designs including public schools, prisons, banks, bridges, and roadways throughout Indiana."

The building changed hands in 1987 and has operated as The Peoples State Bank since, the report reads.

Gloria Colom Braña, the city’s historic preservation program manager, told the council last year the bank exemplifies an era of dynamic change during which a growing segment of the population could afford both a house and a car, represented by the drive-through.

In addition, she said, the building represents the clean lines of the International Style, an architecture style developed in the 1920s and 1930s.

Sam DeSollar, a Bloomington architect and HPC member, said last year the International Style of architecture comes in various flavors but generally focuses on minimalism or lack of ornamentation, proportion and bringing light into the structures. Buildings in the style also usually have flat roofs and large swaths of surfaces, often made of concrete, glass or polished stone.

"There is no other building like that in Bloomington,” DeSollar said at the time. “For me it’s totally worth saving.”

He said Thursday he appreciated all the work the architect and owner had put into the plans, which has “radically” changed the building. “And I think for the better,” DeSollar said.

HPC member Chris Sturbaum, a former city council member, has said, “To some, this building is an ugly duckling … (but) even ugly ducklings can have a purpose.”

Communities that fail to preserve their unique buildings lose their character, he said.

The Peoples State Bank building, he said, is a “funny little building” that is “part of the puzzle” that makes up Bloomington.

Lewis, the owner, told the commission Thursday, “I really want to deliver a nice product to our city.”

He said hopefully commissioner Sturbaum in the future can consider the building a “pretty duckling.”

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Plans for Kirkwood The Peoples State Bank now call for new hotel