Joe Peruski and his wife, Ann, were met with equal parts skepticism and appreciation when they embarked on a journey to redevelop a 5,700-square-foot building in downtown Monroe that is now their home.
Joe says he knows he was fortunate to be able to use his own financial resources to cover the cost of renovations, including the $30,000 expenditure for the residential elevator. He says the total renovation cost was about $225,000.
“I didn’t take out loans and most people have to and that’s where the curve has not met up with people’s desire to do what we did with this building,” he says. “I wish banks and credit unions would do more from a loan standpoint to help people. I wish there was a fundamental change within the lending industry. That’s holding things back.
“We were however able to leverage local economic development money through the DDA.”
Joe says he thinks people are beginning to re-discover downtowns and is hopeful that others will follow his lead.
“I have not looked back. There is not one bit of regret in the entire process,” he says. “We’re not getting younger and we wanted to be able to walk to restaurants and shops and places where my wife could get her hair done. We wanted to get to a point where we could walk everywhere. We enjoy the riverfront and we can now walk to a park. We wanted a place that we could grow old in and still get out and about without having to drive.
“It’s all about a different quality of life that’s coming back. Now I’m seeing a desire from people who say, ‘That’s cool what you and Ann did.’ There’s going to be a few more noises and bumps, but we can get a coffee at a shop that’s 10 yards down from us.”
The journey for the Peruski's involved a move from a 2,100-square-foot house in the suburbs to the historic downtown building.
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Ann and Joe Peruski stand with their son in front of a building in downtown Monroe they refurbished which is where they now live and work.
(Photo by David Lewinsky)
For Joe the move symbolized a return to his roots and an opportunity to experience life in a vibrant urban core.
“My ancestors originally settled in Monroe in 1858,” he says. “I grew up in Dearborn, but Monroe has always been my second home.”
Earlier in their lives, the couple relocated to Marquette, Ann’s hometown, for work. When they had the option to transfer, they settled on a subdivision near Monroe.
After retiring as a Corporate Sales Manager, Joe began a second career with his son as the owners of Monroe Currency and Consulting which sells gold and silver, in addition to running estate sales. That business now occupies the first floor of the building they purchased in June, 2019, which has a second floor that includes a kitchen and living area, and half of a third floor that houses their master bedroom.
“My wife and I looked at this property and said, ‘What are the hot buttons on the building,” Joe says.
They identified a few that they were able to resolve relying on the experience Ann had amassed in her former job with Monroe Bank and Trust. They installed a residential elevator because they knew going up and down 40 flights of stairs on a regular basis would be a challenge as they get older. They also installed a generator in the event of power outages, created easier access from the first to second floors with the addition of a door well, and enlarged an upper deck.
They were able to take occupancy of the circa early-1900’s structure at 104 West Front Street in September, 2020.
Nothing happens overnight
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Timeline of key events in downtown Monroe. (Design by Kathy Tyler)
The emergence of independently-owned businesses that chose to locate in the city’s downtown corridor and individuals who are choosing to live there has been a long time coming, says Annette Knowles, Downtown/Economic Development Coordinator with the City of Monroe.
Ten years ago, she says, the downtown area which encompasses a large historic district was maintaining. The absence of efforts to create growth and substantive change was visible proof of that inertia.
People were mainly coming downtown for business dealings they had with an attorney’s office there or at the County Courthouse or to walk along the banks of the River Raisin which runs parallel to the commercial business district, but they weren’t staying for extended periods of time because there was little else there.
“Over time we had properties developed at the onset of downtown, but over the years we’ve had pockets of infill,” Knowles says. “The whole content of our building stock tells the story of the growth of the city. It signals the timeframe when it grew the fastest.”
That growth spurt likely took off in the late 1800’s since many of the existing buildings date back to that time period.
“If you look on the east and west of Front Street, you see the more structurally intact bones of the historic district,” Knowles says. “There is the courthouse which is like the cornerstone of the community. The square that it sits on is largely owned by Monroe County and there is a public space that surrounds that courthouse.
“One of the hallmarks of historic communities is that balance, but making sure new development is sympathetic to the building infrastructure that exists.”
The trajectory for the city’s downtown took a new and positive turn when the Downtown Development Authority seeded itself with new board members who adopted a more active and aggressive approach to increasing the number of businesses and development activity. Knowles says they developed a five-year strategic plan that is now in year four.
The DDA also completed a Master Plan that included transformational and “big picture” projects and some that were small and incremental which could be easily accomplished.
“In conjunction with that was a series of recommended projects along with a timeline and who might be a stakeholder or actor in that task,” Knowles says. “There was one recommendation to establish design standards for new streetscapes. The DDA took a lead role in creating a downtown character and placemaking.
“Monroe has a wealth of historic properties that make up a great deal of the downtown and there is a strong preservation ethic within it. I don’t believe it’s anyone’s intention to tear down the fabric of what makes our community so unique. We recognize that what makes a building historic is the façade and not what’s inside. When we’re looking at redevelopment, we’re looking at properties that are largely underutilized.”
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A view of the downtown Monroe streetscape. (Photo by David Lewinsky)
One such example is a “rundown” building that was re-purposed and turned into the Hotel Sterling, a boutique hotel that also offers short-term rental opportunities to employees with companies such as Lazy Boy and DTE who were in Monroe on business. While the hotel was among the first projects, the largest to date is a block of dilapidated buildings that was purchased by First Merchants Bank, which bought Monroe Bank and Trust, and turned into a regional office.
Knowles says there also have been a number of residential rehabs which have resulted in more than 130 apartment units in the downtown area. She says some are one bedroom and some are larger.
“This adds a wonderful evening population base to support businesses after hours,” Knowles says.
In addition to building rehabs and façade improvements, the DDA also is addressing the development of surface lots and the re-configuration of major thoroughfares.
There is a re-envisioning of what Monroe Street, which bisects downtown, could look like. That street is a “lynchpin” in the creation of a pedestrian-friendly downtown, Knowles says.
“Some of the things we would do on Monroe would impact one-way streets that bisect it like Front and First. There is an evaluation and study of the next iteration,” she says. “One year from now we could be looking at what configuration of First and Front streets makes the most sense.”
The momentum continues
Peruski, who served on the DDA board for five years, three of them as the Chair, says downtown Monroe is at a crossroads.
“We have some old-time building owners that aren’t going to do a thing to their buildings because they don’t see the 20 to the 30-year turnaround that another group that would buy and renovates would see,” he says. “In my opinion, 10 years ago, West Front Street was probably the least desirable part of Front Street to be on. Storefronts were boarded up and it was not the most glamorous place. Now, it’s the best part of Front Street. Buildings are being re-done and you’ve got some businesses there.”
East Front Street needs some TLC, according to Peruski who adds that there are people working to improve that area of the downtown.
But, he says, if people wait for areas to be developed before deciding to move in, they will have a long wait.
“If you’re willing to take a risk, then you’re OK,” he says.
Sheryl Trujillo and her husband, Anthony, decided to take a chance eight years ago when they relocated their coffee and tea shop - Agua Dulce Coffee & Tea – from a strip mall to a location at 17 West First Street which was followed two years ago by a move to a building at 114 West Front Street. They started the business 10 years ago after Tony retired from his job as an air traffic controller with the Federal Aviation Administration where Sheryl also was also employed in administration.
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An employee of Agua Dolce, a coffee and tea shop in downtown Monroe, waits on a customer. (Photo by David Lewinsky)
Prior to working for the FAA, the couple had both been stationed in California with the Air Force. When they were honorably discharged from the military they came back to Sheryl’s hometown of Monroe because they wanted to raise their children in a less stressful and more wholesome atmosphere.
She says, “Tony was too young to just do nothing and started roasting his own coffee prior to retiring from his FAA job and everyone at work loved the coffee he was roasting. He said because they like my coffee I think I want to roast more coffee and open up a café. Together, we opened a coffee shop so we could do something together.”
The strip mall location, she says, “didn’t really do it for us” and they made the decision to relocate to Front Street because they liked the energy and vibrancy they were seeing there.
“Downtowns are a lot more charming than big cities or being in a strip mall or commercial center and our whole business model was wrapped around the coffee shop being the third place people could spend time with home being the first and work being the second,” Sheryl says. “They can sit in a coffee shop and study or read a book or meet people.
“Downtowns just kind of lend an atmosphere for that to happen and having downtown that’s filled with little shops and things is nice.”
Although state-mandated orders regarding indoor dining due to COVID have temporarily halted that option at the coffee shop, Sheryl says they continue to do a take-out and mail-order business which is keeping their doors open.
The pandemic has slowed down progress, but it hasn’t slowed down the enthusiasm or the momentum, Knowles says. The DDA is continuing to work on potential property development, environmental issues, a Farmer’s Market, parking, and gathering spaces such as the Courthouse property and the riverfront.
With some exceptions, she says most of the businesses in the downtown area are independently owned by people who live in Monroe.
“If you look at the business mix, it trends toward more office, but it is supplemented with a number of retailers and restaurants that offer a more personalized and unique experience,” Knowles says.
Like Peruski, Sheryl says she and her husband chose to be in downtown Monroe with a goal to be a part of the resurgence. She says the downtown businesses will need to support each other during an anticipated re-building process once COVID becomes less of an issue.
“We need to support each other,” Sheryl says. “It’s extremely important to work with other businesses downtown.”
“It is about neighbors supporting neighbors and people supporting local businesses over big box stores and malls,” Knowles says. “Our local retailers are not sending profits to different states, the money is staying here. Although it looks like things are not happening, there is a lot going on in the background.”