Cornerstone Alliance is proposing a residential development for downtown St. Joseph. Cornerstone President Rob Cleveland addressed the St. Joseph City Commission this past week, requesting the city option its property at 201 Lake Boulevard to Cornerstone Alliance so it could seek a developer. That property is currently a parking lot north of Schu’s. Cleveland says he’s heard from several developers interested in bringing apartments to downtown St. Joe.
“I certainly believe that now is an ideal time go out and try to look and find a developer for that site,” Cleveland said. “We all know the challenges we’re facing with housing in the community, and not just in the city of St. Joseph but all of the surrounding communities.”
Cleveland did not have a specific development proposal. Rather, he said he knows there are developers interested in ground level commercial space with multi-family residential units above. He said any project he brings to the city would include a parking structure. Cornerstone is seeking the transferrable option so it can give developers stability as they pursue such a venture. He was not seeking immediate commission approval, but putting the idea before commissioners so they can think about it. There were many questions about what this would do to downtown parking. Mayor Laura Goos said she believes a great deal of discussion will be needed with residents. Cleveland will report back to the commission in January.
