The former Niles Elks Lodge, at 104 N. Third St., which has been vacant for three years, will soon serve the community of Niles again. The building was purchased by Niles business owner Melanie and her husband, Don Kennedy.

The couple has spent months working to transform the 1920s building into a versatile event hall that can cater to residents looking for a place to host their bachelor parties, baby showers, graduation receptions and weddings.

“The fact that it has been sitting here empty is crazy, because it has so much potential,” Melanie said.

Melanie hopes to have the basement portion of the building in operation for events by June. The space will include a bar top, kitchen area and enough space for 200 people to occupy.

Despite the historical building’s need for some care, Melanie said she saw the potential in the building the moment she laid eyes on it.

For Melanie, restoring the building is also personal.

On Sept. 28, 1978, Melanie’s parents, Lennie and Vickie, wed in the building’s basement. Melanie found an old wedding invitation with the information and a wedding photo, in which Vickie is seen tossing a bouquet of flowers. Melanie recognized the space as the former Niles Elks Lodge building.

Melanie’s parents died after battling cancer in 2008, only six months apart from one another. Now, carrying on their memory, Melanie will name the building after them. The “Grand LV” remembers Lennie and Vickie.

“It is really personal to me now,” Melanie said.

The basement portion of the space will be called fifty5 — after the Roman numerals LV.

For residents in Niles looking for an events venue space, some will choose to go to South Bend or Mishawaka, instead of staying local.

“Niles does not have a space with a big enough capacity,” Melanie said. “There are only a couple small places in town.”

As a downtown business owner of Luminous Hair Salon, 222 Front St., offering local residents an events venue would be a worthy investment in the downtown area, Melanie said.

Most recently owned by the American Legion, the basement portion of the building is the most updated of the total 21,000 square-foot building.

While bringing a fresh look to the space is all part of the transformation, Melanie said they aim to also incorporate many of the historical components of the building that make it special.

The building’s original doors and windowpanes will remain, along with the ends of the bowling alley lanes, which will be incorporated into the bar.

“I definitely wanted to update and make it a little more modern and clean to people who would want to be using it,” Melanie said. “My vision is former chandeliers and more elegant. The downstairs [portion] will be more casual.”

Built in 1928, the historic building will need lots of care, but Melanie and Don felt the project was worth it.

“It is a diamond in the rough, really,” Melanie said. “I am sure that most people won’t see that because it is a lot of work.”

With three empty floors, there is a lot of work to be done, but also a lot of potential.

One space is a former ballroom located on the third floor. Complete with a band shell, high ceilings and elegant gold trim bordering the walls, Melanie envisions hosting weddings, live music and other occasions in the room, which can hold up to 500 people.

The space comes with an interesting history. One piece is a gold clock that hangs just above the band shell. The clock is actually a painting with hands frozen at 11 p.m. Through her research of the building, Melanie discovered that 11 p.m. was a time when Elk’s would honor veterans.

Including a potential space for a beer garden and restoring the third floor porch are also part of Melanie’s plans for restoration that could come at a later time.

Melanie said she does not yet know when renovations of the upper part of the building will be complete.

For now the family is taking the project piece by piece.

“We are just working on it one room at a time,” Melanie said.