For some people, Monroe is the home of La-Z-Boy furniture, or of General George Custer. But for generations of Michigan Catholics, it is known as the home of the bright blue-clad sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary or, more popularly, the IHMs.
Over time, the presence of the IHM sisters has dwindled as their numbers have, with fewer women entering religious life. That necessitated the redevelopment of their campus in downtown Monroe.
After several decades of reimagining and redevelopment, one piece remained: the St. Mary’s Academy building. The structure sat vacant for more than 20 years, until developer Keith Masserant signed a
purchase agreement last year that will allow his company, KM Cornerstone, the ability to inspect the building, finalize plans for its future, and line up capital to complete an ambitious redevelopment project.
Saved from the wrecking ball by personal connections
Masserant says he had no intention of getting involved with the redevelopment of St.Mary’s Academy until he was invited to a meeting with
Monroe County for potential developers of the building. His history with the building goes back a long way -- he attended classes there while going to high school at Monroe Catholic Central nearby and his sister, Patsy Masserant, is an alumna.
When he heard that one of the options on the table was demolishing the building, he felt compelled to try and avoid that fate for a place that held lots of meaning for him. “I stood up and said, ’We can do this. All of us together, we could put this program together. We could save this building.'”
Masserant’s plan includes 115 apartment units that are aimed at the “missing middle” -- people who don’t qualify for any sort of housing subsidies, but aren’t in the market for the kind of upscale developments, with prices to match, that are popular with developers. He also wants to create a space for an entrepreneurial program as well as amenities for the nearby neighborhoods such as a YMCA branch that would also offer affordable childcare. “It's for every pedigree, every degree of age, from retirement to teenager,” he says.
The redevelopment work will preserve as much of the architectural detail of the 100-year-old building as possible, keeping the front entrance, foyer, library and chapel -- what Masserant calls “the heart and soul of the building” -- intact. He hopes the alumni association from the school will work with him to maintain those spaces. His work is typically as an industrial contractor, and this is his first historic preservation project.
Launching entrepreneurs
Fostering entrepreneurship is an important part of the project for Masserant. He plans a co-working space in the building, as well as space for a nonprofit entrepreneurship program that could eventually help fill some of the commercial space with businesses started by program graduates.
“I really want to help people to get a business started, whether they're younger or if they're adults, and to help teach them how to keep a business going and how to follow their heart and how to make things happen,” he says. They’d also like to include a coffee shop or restaurant, and the building also boasts a 99-seat auditorium, one of the few in the area.
The possibility of seeing the building renovated into housing and commercial space in a city that is largely built up could open up a lot of new opportunities for Monroe, says Mark Cochran, assistant city manager and economic and community development for the
City of Monroe.
“We don't have a lot of vacant land for significant redevelopment opportunities, and this building is over a quarter million square feet,” Cochran says. “So when we think about the opportunity that this asset presents for economic and community development in the city, it's really exciting.”
Masserant signed an intent to purchase the building in summer 2024, and is in the middle of a two-year due diligence period that is used to ensure the project is viable financially and logistically. So far, the news has been good. A detailed inspection has been completed and no asbestos or other major concerns have been identified. Because it’s been secured since the school building closed in 2001, the structure is in surprisingly good shape, he says. Engineering studies are underway now and should be completed this summer with construction expected to start in summer 2026.
Public, private, and philanthropic collaboration
Collaboration has been key to getting this project off the ground, Masserant says. The city of Monroe has helped with everything from doing architectural and asbestos studies, to setting up meetings with the
Michigan Municipal League Foundation and the
Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation for potential funding, to bringing in the Michigan Housing Development Authority and the
Michigan Economic Development Corporation to explore state financing options.
The city is also helping with infrastructure, such as adding a new water main outside the building to provide for the needs of future tenants. The city is also offering
tax increment financing, which captures increased taxes in a defined area near a project in order to repay a developer for the cost of the project. TIF projects can be controversial, since the new tax revenue generated by a development project goes to the developer versus the city coffers.
However, since this project was owned by a religious organization, it was exempt from taxes and not adding directly to the city’s tax base prior to development, Cochran says. Also, the deep connection people feel to the building means the community is largely behind repurposing, rather than demolishing, the historic space
“The building and its long-storied history is very cherished by the city and its residents,” Cochran says. “So I think there's a sense of ownership by the community in the fact that it's sat empty since 2001, in the desire to not have it torn down. Everybody's got a connection to that facility and that campus, it feels like.”
The city will be holding listening sessions with the surrounding neighborhoods and the city at large to gather feedback on the plans for the site.
Masserant says this project is very meaningful to him, as someone with deep connections to St. Mary’s Academy, and he knows having someone local who actually cares about the building versus a developer who just sees it in terms of dollars and cents is important.
“I wake up every morning thinking about this building,” Masserant says. “I want this to go another 100 years, and to go to the next 100 years. I can envision families and children and the next generation, and the next generation. We want to make it a place of harmony and peace.”
This story is part of the Nonprofit Journal Project, an initiative focused on nonprofit leaders and programs across Metro Detroit. This series is made possible with the generous support of our partners, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Michigan Nonprofit Association and Co.act Detroit.