Taking Care of Business

Last year, Indiana Landmarks launched the restoration of the 10,000 square-foot Kizer House and its carriage house as the next home of our Northern Regional Office. The Romanesque Revival building occupies the southwest corner of Chapin and West Washington Street, a busy South Bend corridor with many cultural attractions.

Constructed c.1888, the Kizer House property offers more room than we need for our office alone, so we expect to create rental space for other nonprofits or businesses to help pay for the work. We also expect to ensure it’s an actively used site, with space for small events, meetings, arts and community events.

This summer, we applied to the ND Impact Partners for team of alumni from Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business to help us refine our vision for the Kizer House. Working with our staff, the team of six investigated a variety of arrangements that would fit our vision for the property. After surveying and research, the team created a business plan that recommends a mix of office and residential space, with suggested rental rates. That plan will now guide the next phase of restoration.

The ND Impact Partners program, created four years ago, brings strong business analysis to the projects of nonprofit organizations. The Kizer House is one of the first three projects the team has worked on in the South Bend area. “The Kizer House project is a bit out of the norm for our teams, which typically partner with human service organizations,” says Tim Ponisciak, Impact Partners coordinator. “It provided a great fit for the skills and experience of our school’s alumni who operate in the real estate, construction and non-profit arena.”