Real Estate Transactions Secure Permanent Trail Easements

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 Michigan’s DNR purchased 67 miles, with a price tag of $985,969, in an effort to secure permanent trail easements and improve existing trail connectivity. The purchase spans Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron and Ontonagon counties in the Upper Peninsula. The purchases were funded, in part, by the Michigan Permanent Snowmobile Easement Fund. The bulk of the purchase is for snowmobile trail use, but multi-use trail opportunities may be in the future.

Northern Michigan Small Retail Businesses Pivot in Pandemic Times

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Two Boyne City small businesses are vacating their store fronts. However, it’s not goodbye. The Outdoor Beerdsman, a retail store, is moving to online sales. The difficulty in securing available workers has pushed the owner toward a virtual storefront that will include a sister company.  The second business, Long Road Distillers, is relocating to Charlevoix and is awaiting its liquor license.

Houghton’s Planning Commission Considers Rezoning Request

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Houghton’s planning commission will reconsider a previously approved zoning request to rezone approximately 15.5 acres.  The previous request included a wetlands area. The wetlands area was removed from the earlier request. However, concerns continue to be raised about the land use along the shoreline.

Affordable Housing Becomes Scarce in Traverse City

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On May 1, when Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an exectuive order allowing Michigan’s real estate industry to get back to work, the Traverse City market rocketed. The pent-up high demand for real estate, along with the reconfiguration of social patterns due to remote work created an explosion in real estate demand. However, potential buyers may be priced out of the local market. 

Successor to Art Van Closes Multiple Locations

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Loves Furniture is shrinking its business footprint due to supply chain issues in Asia, caused by COVID. The company plans to close Michigan stores in Dearborn, Waterford, Port Huron, Livonia, Burton, Saginaw, Bay City, Muskegon, and Petoskey, where it just opened a store on November 7, 2020. Although the company claims that customer demand is high, the company claims it can not fill the inventory needs of the stores.

Michigan Downtowns Take A Hit From Remote Work

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Downtown businesses have lost a significant percentage of their consumers due to remote work trends. The number of empty commercial real estate sites is preventing the resurgence of downtowns. Owners are creatively repurposing empty sites to adapt to the need for affordable housing, remote employee wifi access, and coworking spaces.

Northern Michigan Real Estate Booms As Builders Struggle To Meet Demand

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Rising construction costs, due in part to a stressed supply and demand chain, cause Northern Michigan builders to focus on high-end homes in the interest of profits. Moderate and low-income buyers struggle to find affordable housing. MSHDA has established a program for the 2020-2021fiscal year to aid lower-income buyers purchase homes at an attainable price point.