A new building permit has been pulled for the last of 22 condo units being built inside the former Jefferson Elementary School in St. Joseph and the developers will appear before the St. Joseph City Commission tonight seeking a one-year extension on the project’s deadline for completion at a public hearing slated for tonight’s session.
Managing Partner Marshall Downs of 2214 S. State Street, LLC, will answer commission questions tonight as he details work still remaining in the final phase of the highly successful development which has been underway for a number of years, but only since 2015 under their watch. Originally launched by previous owners nearly twelve years ago, the project struggled through several iterations until Downs and his partners took ownership.
Since that time, sixteen units have been completed and sold, two more are under construction contracts, and four units are available for purchase, with three of those still in various stages of construction.
Downs and his development team are asking the City Commission to green light a one year extension, even though his application for time extension says, “We anticipate another six months of construction necessary.” He adds, “However, we are applying for a 12-month extension in order to ensure we have enough time to complete the remaining units and site work.” The extension is a time-bump only, and does not seek any other changes to the Planned Unit Development authorized by the city and extended again last year at this time.
In addition to the five units remaining under construction, the developers also have finish grading and landscaping to be completed, 75-percent of which is already done. Additionally, one or two of the units under construction are expected to be complete and achieve certificates of occupancy by the end of this year, which would leave 3 or 4 to be finished by the proposed new deadline of December 31st of 2018.
All garages on site have been built, parking lots on the north and west sides of the building have been completed, seven new ground floor patios have been built, a common-area pergola was erected, and the north entrance landscaping was finished along with new sidewalks on that side of the building.
Former St. Joe Mayor Bob Judd is the resident representative of the building’s homeowner’s association which will be handed off to residents when the project is completely finished next year.
The two-story former school building is on property zoned R1-A Single Family Residence, with the Planned Unit Development authorizing conversion to multi-family with the stipulation that no unit can be rented for less than six months by any owner.
The development team also includes Architect Thomas Wright of Baroda and they are represented by St. Joe Attorney Mark Miller in their proceedings.
