It’s very early in the game, but a South Bend developer is stepping forward with a concept that might lead to development of the former YWCA property along Lake Boulevard in downtown St. Joseph. The spot that many refer to simply as ‘The Empty Lot” has sat undeveloped for years after several commercial/residential combo plans failed to attract financing that would make them economically feasible. Even during a period of historically low interest rates, nothing happened, and with rates up recently, there’s been little hope of anything happening soon on the site. That MIGHT be changing!
Now, the property, which is owned by the locally-based Monte family, is being eyed for a new commercial-residential combo project being envisioned by a South Bend developer, The Rienks Group. Rienks proposes to combine the YWCA lot with the city-owned parking lot to its South, to make a project that’s big enough to make the numbers work. Very tentatively, the several story building would have commercial space on the street level, apartments or condo’s above, and an underground parking garage that would not result in any parking spaces being lost.
The St. Joseph City Commissi0n tonight (Monday, June 23) will be asked to give general support to the concept, which would eventually include sale of the city parking lot to Rienks. The action being requested is essentially a ‘blessing’ of the concept that will allow the developer to proceed with more detailed plans and estimates. The City would not be committing to the sale… merely saying ‘It makes sense, it might be a good idea, bring us more information and an offer for the parking lot.’ Without that city support, there is likely no project, as the YWCA site alone is likely too small (as we’ve seen in the past).
The Rienks Group website lists more than a dozen Michiana projects they’ve been involved in over the past several years. None appears to be of the magnitude of this one, which is dubbed ‘The Marquette’ in an internal communication that was shared with MoodyOnTheMarket.com. Rienks lists the remake of a couple of downtown St. Joseph buildings on their success page: The Rice Building (Jimmy John’s & upstairs apartments) and ‘The Hamilton’ (a luxury apartment upstairs over FuzzyButz Pet Bakery), both on State Street. Rienks also has done a couple of major construction projects for Berrien RESA, the county’s educational services agency located in Berrien Springs and a list of building re-makes in South Bend.
The Rienks Group was founded by CEO Peter Rienks in 2017, according to a bio on their website:
Peter Rienks
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
Peter Rienks founded TRG in 2017, initially investing in real estate part-time. In 2019, he seized the opportunity to transition to full-time real estate development with a vision to change the way people approach the industry. TRG was originally conceived as a real estate development company with in-house general construction capabilities. However, as the construction side of the business quickly outpaced development, the company’s focus shifted.
Today, Peter oversees the day-to-day operations of TRG’s entire portfolio, including setting strategy, driving initiatives, hiring employees, and managing overall company direction.
Prior to founding TRG, Peter was deeply involved in utility-scale energy projects. His responsibilities included sourcing deals, tracking incentives, managing the design process, negotiating construction contracts, raising capital, and overseeing project execution.
Peter holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Lawrence Technological University and an Executive MBA from the University of Notre Dame.
By Gayle Olson, MOTM Contributor
