Owner/developer Steve Craig of the Craig Realty Group reports progress on the renovation work underway at the former Geiger House at 2501 Frederick.

Geiger said in an interview they’re about to wrap up repair work on the second floor, including replacing a large amount of stone work and rebuilding all of the windows. Later this summer, Craig says a small St Joseph law firm will occupy the second floor. Craig would not name the law firm, but said four or five lawyers would take over the space.

The first floor is being converted from a bank into a coffee shop. Craig says the hope to finish work soon on the plans, with the hope of beginning construction on the first floor by early September. Craig hopes to open the as-yet unnamed coffee shop by the end of the year.

The last several weeks have seen extensive repairs to the exterior and the upstairs portion of the facility. They’ve replaced some fallen stucco, broken stones and all of the windows. The banking infrastructure, including the vault and teller windows inside, and the drive-through lanes outside, are being dismantled.

Craig says he found some local artisans to do the stone masonry on the historic structure. His team recently met at the site to “keep everyone on the same page,” as the development continues.

Craig purchased the property from the City of St Joseph last year for $251 thousand, after a spirited debate about what should be done with the building. The previous tenant, UMB Bank, gave it to the city. The original plan was to convert it into a fire station, but a large public outcry stifled those plans. Public meetings were held, and a citizens committee was appointed to figure out what should be done with the building.

During a second round of bidding, city officials considered three offers for the Geiger mansion. Last October, the city announced it had accepted Craig’s offer, which was one thousand dollars above the minimum bid required by the city.

Here are some photographs from the original request for proposals.