John Bays Bringing High-End Apartments To Downtown Joliet

JOLIET, IL —During the pandemic, Joliet businessman John Bays kept his contractors busy renovating his Tundra Lodge hotel conference center in Green Bay, Wis. and the Crowne Plaza Chicago-Northbrook. Now, the president of Bays Investment Corporation is turning his attention to downtown Joliet's Two Rialto Square Building next to the historic Rialto Square Theatre. Several tenants utilize the first four floors for offices, but until now, Bays has not disclosed his plans for the upper two floors.

Bays considered turning the fifth and sixth floors into a hotel. However, he's decided against that. Instead, Bays told Joliet Patch that he is now moving ahead with plans to convert the fifth and sixth floors of Two Rialto Square into high-end apartments.

Bays said he is putting 10 apartments on each of the upper floors. During an interview at Bays' other major downtown redevelopment project, the Premier Building, Joliet Patch asked Bays when he expects the 20 new apartments will be ready for occupancy.

"Ninety days is what comes to mind because we're going to be focused," Bays assured Joliet Patch. "We're doing 20 upscale apartments, and I want to make it really nice, so we get really good people."

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Bays said that finishing the apartment units this fall is one of his top priorities for Bays Investments. He said there will be 16 one-bedroom apartments, two two-bedroom apartments and two studio apartments at his Two Rialto Square property, 116 N. Chicago St.

For the past year, Bays has kept his workers busy renovating a major portion of the first floor into what will be a large dine-in restaurant and bar area. However, because of the pandemic, Bays said he was not in a huge hurry to get the restaurant ready to open.

"I want to get the apartments in first," Bays told Joliet Patch."And I want to make the lobby area really nice."

About a block down the street, another downtown Joliet real estate investor, Mike Petry, converted the historic Barber Building into 35 loft apartment units geared for working professionals. Petry had so much demand for his apartment units that he recently got the city of Joliet's backing to add another four more apartment units within the Barber Building at 68 N. Chicago St.

Similar to Petry's project, Bays said he will be marketing his Two Rialto Square Building apartment units toward Joliet's working professionals such as lawyers, city and Will County government employees, medical field workers and educators.

"These are going to be upscale apartments for Joliet's business class," Bays remarked. "The goal is to bring in the pride of Joliet. These are going to be really nice."

Bays envisions that some of his 20 apartment units would be rented out before the end of 2020. Once he gets his apartment renovations done, Bays said he might be ready to select the restaurant entity that will occupy the main level of his building. The restaurant is adjacent to the crown jewel of Joliet: the Rialto Square Theater. The Rialto has been off-limits to shows since March because of the pandemic, but it's being used daily as Will County's traffic court.

Bays told Patch he remains in talks with multiple entities about opening the restaurant.

"It's been a lower priority for us," Bays said. Getting it done "wasn't a big deal for me to finish because of COVID-19. I have a tenant for it. I definitely have a tenant for it."

During last week's interview, Bays told Patch he plans to move his company headquarters for Bays Investments to downtown Joliet because he has so many projects in the heart of the city.

Bays Investments is at Twin Oaks Place on West Jefferson Street. Bays told Patch that he will move his company to either the Premier Building, which he bought in July 2019, or the Two Rialto Square Building that he acquired in December 2018.

Related Joliet Patch story: John Bays: Premier Building Adding Tenants, Looks Fantastic