A $57.4 million mixed use residential and commercial development proposed for downtown St. Joseph has received a big boost from city commissioners.
On Monday, commissioners approved a special use permit for The Marquette on Lake Boulevard to stand 25 feet taller than the current rules allow without a permit. They also approved a brownfield plan for the project.
Following the actions, the seven-story Marquette will stand at 80 feet tall, containing 68 apartments, 32 condos, a rooftop deck, commercial space on the ground, and two stories of underground parking with 180 spaces.
City commissioners warmly received the Marquette proposal when it was introduced in June, and the plan has since been adjusted to meet concerns. Speaking on Monday, Peter Rienks of the Rienks Group said the project came about when he was looking at goals laid out in the city’s master plan.
“How’s the progress been made on the city’s master plan? What is happening with these lots? Who’s working on this? And there was no one,” Reinks said.
Reinks said this development will bring year-round residents of varying income levels to the downtown, noting it will reserve 31 units for residents at 100% of the area median income, which is $78,000.
Commissioner Michael Sarola said the Marquette will be a major boost to the area, and he praised the Reinks Group for its focus on serving the community’s needs.
“Every ask that the city’s had of these developers they’ve come through, whether it was the affordable rents, they’ve done that,” Sarola said. “That caused the need for the additional height of the building. That caused the need for an additional lower level of parking. So they’ve done that.”
The brownfield plan will enable Reinks to recoup some of its development cost by capturing the growth in taxable value over time.
The majority of public comments during Monday’s two public hearings — one on the building height, and one on the brownfield plan — were positive. Commissioners unanimously voted in favor of both.
Reinks said he’s expecting financing for the Marquette to be in place in early 2026 and ground to be broken around May or June of 2026. The project would be complete two years after groundbreaking. He said this is the first private development downtown in almost 40 years.
