Jasper developers seek $1.5 million for downtown factory redevelopment

Premier Property Management and Krempp Construction are asking the City of Jasper for $1.5 million to help finance a nearly $15 million redevelopment of the former Indiana Furniture factory, a proposal that would convert a familiar downtown landmark into apartments and commercial space. Ruger Kerstiens presented the request to the Jasper City Council, putting public money at the center of a private project with visible stakes for downtown Jasper.

The building at 13th and Mill Streets has already become a redevelopment target once before. A 2024 plan called for about 147 one- and two-bedroom apartments in the 119-year-old, four-story structure, and later reporting said the project targeted the vacant 200,000-square-foot property at 1224 Mill Street. Jasper’s Common Council also approved a 10-year tax abatement for that redevelopment, giving the project 100% property-tax relief for the first seven years before the benefit steps down by 25% each year over the final three years.

That earlier work matters because the current proposal builds on the same underlying question: how much public support should Jasper put behind a downtown reuse project that private developers say is too costly to fund alone. If the deal moves ahead, the city would be helping preserve a major downtown building instead of letting it sit underused, while also adding housing and commercial activity in the city’s core. For Jasper leaders, that means a chance to strengthen the walkable downtown footprint with new residents, new storefront potential and more daily activity around one of the city’s most visible blocks.

The property became available for redevelopment after Indiana Furniture completed its move to a new headquarters at 1919 Hospitality Drive in Jasper in March 2024. The company had announced more than $17 million in expansion and relocation spending, saying the Mill Street building was not well suited to modern furniture manufacturing. That left the downtown factory behind as a large, vacant shell with a size and layout that make traditional industrial use unlikely.

The city has also kept the site in its economic-development pipeline. The Jasper Redevelopment Commission agenda for May 5, 2026, included consideration of project funding and a TIF pass-through letter to overlapping taxing units, showing that local financing tools are already part of the discussion. If Jasper declines to deepen its support, the former Indiana Furniture building remains a vacant downtown anchor with no clear industrial future. If the proposal advances, the payoff could be a more active downtown block, more housing units and a reuse plan that helps define what Jasper wants its core to become.