The historic 100 Center in downtown Mishawaka goes up for sale after decades of decline

MISHAWAKA — Owners of the iconic 100 Center are offering the property for sale, but it’s going to take a developer with deep pockets to reverse the fate of the historic structure.

AA Access Corp. Of LaGrange, Ill., is asking $995,000 for the nearly 100,000-square-foot building that dates back to 1853 and once was the main building for the Kamm and Schellinger Brewery.

This summer, the 100 Center was placed on Indiana Landmarks' list of the state’s most endangered historic buildings in an attempt to bring public attention to the structure before it’s too late, said Todd Zeiger, northern Indiana director of the non-profit group.

Though the building has been declining for a couple of decades, it hasn’t gotten to the point where it couldn’t be restored and repurposed, said Zeiger, adding that the rebirth of the downtown area in recent years also increases the building’s chances.

During code enforcement hearings in 2018, the owners indicated they had hauled out 10 full-size Dumpsters of rubbish and were hoping to begin restoring the sprawling structure in sections that could then be leased out before proceeding onto the next section.

They even indicated they had the financing in place to tackle the project, which they estimated would cost a few million dollars.

Past hope: Owners describe plans for Mishawaka’s 100 Center revitalization

Those plans didn’t get off the ground in 2019, and then the pandemic resulted in a virtual shutdown of the economy in 2020.

Ken Prince, Mishawaka city planner, said 100 Center has suffered for years because it was owned by an “absentee landlord who let the building degrade over time.” He estimated building owners have accrued more than $100,000 in fines for building code and fire safety violations.

But even so, Prince believes the 100 Center could be saved because the city would be willing to use tax abatement, TIF money and other measures to support a developer who has the “vision and the wherewithal” to restore the building.

Prince estimated it could cost upwards of $20 million to preserve and restore the building, which might be used for apartments, offices, stores and restaurants.

“It’s architecturally and historically significant, and it’s in a great location,” he said.

After the brewery shut down in the early 1950s, it was converted into a popular mixed-use facility in the late 1960s that contained restaurants, retailers and other business, Zeiger said.

“It was one of the first reuses of a historical building,” Zeiger said. “It was cutting edge at the time.”

By the 1980s, the building was starting to decline, however, as it was losing tenants to the rapidly developing area on the north side of the city surrounding University Park Mall, Zeiger said.

But with the investment in parks, high-end housing and restaurants in the downtown area, Zeiger believes the structure again has a chance to attract the attention of a developer.

Real estate broker John Mester of Cressy Commercial is representing the sellers of the 100 Center, which was listed for sale in January 2020. He didn't return calls for comment.

Other portions of the former brewery complex have been adapted for other uses.

On its Web site, Indiana Landmarks said the main four-story structure “is the last of a thriving industrial area along the Mishawaka riverfront and one of the area’s few remaining examples of pre-Civil War architecture.

“The brewery building’s solid masonry construction and significant local history merit rehabilitation,” according to the preservation group.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Historic 100 Center in downtown Mishawaka is for sale