For the past two years, the Esker Square team has been hard at work making sure all the details are just right for the new development on Cedar Street. The Gillespie Company is hoping to restart construction this fall.
“What I wish the residents of Delhi Township knew is how hard we’ve been working to try to get this off the ground,” said Scott Gillespie, president and owner of the Gillespie Company. “We are still extremely excited and very proud of the efforts thus far and look forward to building something that all of the residents can be proud of.”
Esker Square is a $12 million mixed-use development that will house apartments, retail, and office space on Cedar Street in downtown Holt. The project is the first private development to come to Holt as a result of the Realize Cedar initiative and will pave the way for a more livable, walkable community for residents and businesses.
The Gillespie Company worked alongside the Delhi Township Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the Department of Environmental Quality, now the Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE), to devise a plan to mitigate the environmental damage on the property, making it safe for public use.
Though the company cannot yet announce all the new business tenants who will fill the commercial space, the Gillespie Company team has been carefully cultivating relationships with businesses that will benefit the community.
“We have been working very hard to find the right businesses and the right tenants that would be a good fit for Delhi Township, who can be successful and provide a service that people want,” Gillespie said.
Tracey Hernly, of Howard Hanna Real Estate Executives, was one of the first business tenants to sign on board to Esker Square’s future commercial space.
“I’m very picky about my office space,” Hernly said. “I want to work at a place that I find motivating and inspiring.”
Hernly said she’s looking forward to moving her business into a thriving new downtown space.
“There’s so much that Holt has to offer,” she said. “The hype and the excitement of Holt’s new downtown and the Esker Square development will be off the charts. With two leading teams in the Greater Lansing area partnering with the nation’s largest family-owned real estate brokerage company, I think that it’s a perfect opportunity for a new real estate brand to come to town.”
The Gillespie Company is hoping to be finished with construction on Esker Square by the fall of 2021. Until then, the team is grateful for the community’s patience.
“I just want everybody to know that it’s not dead,” Gillespie said. “It’s coming and it’s going to be beautiful. I’m proud of the design. I’m proud of the team and I really look forward to it being something that everybody is proud of.”
To learn more about the Esker Square project, visit thegillespiecompany.com/properties/esker-square/.