City of Bloomington repurposes old Pantagraph building

Image courtesy of the City of Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The city of Bloomington is redeveloping the former Pantagraph print building following City Council approval earlier this year.

The building at 217 W. Jefferson St. in downtown Bloomington was founded in 1903 and was home to The Pantagraph until 2020. After six years of vacancy, the property is being revived. Green Building LLC is leading the construction process for the redevelopment.

The first floor of the building now houses 8-Bit Arcade Bar, and The Hockey Foundry is relocating from Chestnut Street to provide a practice facility on the third and fourth floors. The second floor is expected to be used as retail office space.

City Economic Development Specialist Josh Maubach said he is excited about the future of downtown Bloomington.

“The momentum in downtown Bloomington right now is palpable. That’s a good thing for everybody,” he said. “We’re seeing this new revitalization happening, which we’re very fortunate to have.”

The project on Jefferson Street is the latest in a series of redevelopments the city has undertaken in the past month. Earlier this week, the council approved a project to redevelop a former State Farm building, where more than 180 apartments are planned.

“We believe the potential of our downtown is huge, and we think that there is enough room for us to have retail corridors on Veterans Parkway and a strong downtown,” Maubach said.

The project on Jefferson Street is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.