BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) _ The Bloomington City Council hopes that giving a historic designation to a neighborhood next to the Indiana University campus will lead school officials to reconsider a plan for tearing down six houses.
The council voted Wednesday to approve creation of the University Courts Historic District. That's where the IU Foundation has offered a land swap to Phi Gamma Delta for a new fraternity house.
University officials don't need the city's permission to demolish the houses because it is a state institution.
The Herald-Times reports City Councilman Chris Sturbaum says destroying houses in the neighborhood that dates back about 100 years would be careless and a mistake.
IU officials have said the land swap is contingent on the fraternity's ability to raise money for a new house.
