ALTON - The historic Riverbender Building at 200 W. Third St. in Downtown Alton has been greatly improved over the past year, with a rooftop community area overlooking the City of Alton and newly renovated offices available for local business tenants seeking affordable, modernized office space with free WIFI. Developers Mark Jaffe and John Muller discussed some of the improvements that have been made at an Alton Main Street "What’s Up Downtown" meeting earlier this year.
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Jaffe and Muller purchased the Riverbender building from Riverbender.com owner John Hentrich in July of 2021. Jaffe said Hentrich had done an “amazing job of keeping this historic building running”, and Jaffe and Muller aim to do the same going forward with added improvements.
“We’ve done many things to improve and add value to this landmark building,” Jaffe said, including fresh renovations of the exterior, lobby, hallways, and private office spaces.
Jaffe and Muller also preserved some of the building’s historic elements, including the bank vault in the basement from when the building was opened as the First National Bank in 1925, the original mailbox in the lobby, and terrazzo floors throughout most of the building.
Newly remodeled office space is available from 150-1,000+ square feet, and Jaffe said units are available from $350/Month with “everything included, including Wi-Fi.”
Hentrich reiterated the amount of investment and effort that Jaffe and Muller have put into the building and spoke highly of them as property managers.
“They’ve spent money on this building that I could’ve never spent,” Hentrich said. “Floor after floor, all the painting, all the staining of the doors, central air has been put in every floor - as you can imagine, all that stuff is crazy expensive.”
“They’re great building owners, they’re great building managers - so if you are looking for office space, I did sign a five-year lease and I am enjoying the life of a tenant now instead of an owner. It’s pretty cool; every time something goes wrong, I just call Mark and John and say, ‘Hey, nice old building you got, but you’ve got to work on it,’” Hentrich said to laughter from attendees.
On a serious note, Hentrich said Jaffe and Muller are “fantastic to work with,” and the Riverbender Building is perfect for local small business owners.
“If you’re anywhere else in Alton, if you’re looking for a change, or you’re looking for some upgraded space, the building looks better than it’s ever looked before,” Hentrich said.
For more information about the Riverbender building, visit RiverBenderBuilding.com or contact John Muller at 314-568-5296 or john@johnmuller.net
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