News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The former post office on Water Street, also referred to as the federal building, is pictured in Alpena on Tuesday. Alpena developer Jeff Konczak is purchasing the building and said his vision for it will add value to downtown and tourism to the area.

ALPENA — Alpena developer Jeff Konczak is adding another key piece of property to his portfolio that will further push his vision for downtown Alpena.

Konczak is purchasing the former post office on Water Street, and, although he wouldn’t reveal his intentions for the building, he said his vision for the property will add value to downtown and tourism in the area.

Konczak currently owns the freshly renovated Sanctuary Cinema, the former Vaughn department store, the old State Theater, and other properties inside the city limits.

Konczak said that, when the federal building went up for sale, it made sense for him to try to acquire it because of the historical importance of the building and the potential it has.

“Just look at it,” he said. “It is one of the oldest and coolest buildings in town, and it is beautiful. It is one of the last deeded waterfront properties downtown, and we can do a lot to it.”

Konczak said that, because of the depth of the Thunder Bay River behind the building, he would be able to moor the glass-bottom boat Lady Michigan and his new kayak-launching boat, the Paddler, at the side of the river, should the 2nd Avenue Bridge, which raises to let big boats pass through, have issues.

“If something went wrong with that bridge, in a pinch, we could dock the Lady Michigan and the Paddler there,” Konczak said. “To grow that business, we need to have a backup plan in place. Part of that plan is to take a historic building and do something with it.”

Konczak, along with his wife, Tina, purchased the Lady Michigan earlier this summer to ensure the boat remains in Alpena after the boat’s owner indicated there was a chance it could be moved.

He said his intentions are to expand the number of cruises offered and add other special events and amenities which he is sure will be popular for locals and visitors, especially those who make stops in Alpena on Great Lakes cruises.

“We will have night cruises where people can see the lights of Alpena from the lake and the scenery of the river on the way back in after dark,” he said. “We will also have wine and cheese cruises. Right now, we have three cruises a day, four when the cruise ships are in, but I think we can push that to five or even six a day. We are going to crank it up, which should bring in more people. I think there are infinite possibilities with this.”

Konczak said the idea of renting the glass-bottom boat for weddings and other special events could also become a reality.

Besides ongoing projects at the Vaughn and State Theater, Konczak is also moving forward with constructing a food and beverage park at the former Alpena County jail site on Johnson Street. He purchased the property from the county and intends to open a Biggby Coffee, Quiznos, and Taco Del Mar in small B-Cubed structures similar to the Biggby in the Meijer parking lot.

He said the appropriate zoning change has been completed by the city and a design plan will go before the city Planning Commission soon.

He said there is a lot going on behind the scenes with all of his projects, but people need to understand the logistics involved in making them a reality and be patient.

“To have a successful project in a perfect world, everything would go smoothly,” Konczak said. “But we’re dealing with 100-year-old buildings, so nothing is going to go smoothly. These types of projects are both expensive and complicated. The truth is it takes a tremendous amount of effort on everyone’s part to make these projects successful.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.