New Owners Have Big Plans for Vacant St. Joseph Property

ST. JOSEPH (WJON News) -- The new owners of a long-vacant building in St. Joseph have big plans for the space.

On Monday, Michelle Kuhn and Jessica Turner will ask the Planning Commission to rezone the property along the Lake Wobegon Trail at 454 1st Avenue Northeast.

Kuhn says they bought the property most people refer to as the St. Joe Mill back in October.

According to city documents, the mother and daughter team have been running a successful food truck business called Pit Stop BBQ for several years. They have outgrown their kitchen capacity and have intentions to remodel the building.

They envision the ground level as a commercial kitchen with a possible walk-up takeout counter. They also want to have a multi-rider bicycle rental business with a bike repair shop. This would be the first phase of the remodel along with structural repairs.

The rest of the first level would eventually be rented out to microentrepreneurs.

They say prospective renters have approached them for things like a graphics art design business, a dog grooming business, nutrition counseling, a beverage shop, and a soup and breadstick business.

The upper levels would eventually be transformed into overnight accommodation rentals.

In their application, they say they want to entice travelers along the trail to stop in St. Joseph by becoming a destination stop.