Historic Fishtown is about to get a little bit bigger.

The Fishtown Preservation Society (FPS), the nonprofit that works “to assure public access to Fishtown and to maintain its historical integrity,” has purchased the John and Janice Van Raalte House and surrounding property at 101 South Lake Street in downtown Leland, right next door to Historic Fishtown. The two-level, 2,650-square-foot home and the half-acre of land will serve as the new home for FPS, which currently keeps its offices down the street at the Leland Cultural Campus. According to FPS Executive Director Amanda Holmes, the bigger headquarters will allow the FPS to expand its staff and programming, among other advantages.

Per a press release, FPS “acquired ownership of the core of Historic Fishtown in 2007 in order to preserve its historical integrity.” Ever since, the organization has operated not within the boundaries of Fishtown itself, but in space it leases from the Leelanau Historical Society.

“It’s been a wonderful space to have, but it’s really just one room,” Holmes says of the existing office. “We are a staff of two, and we do everything out of this space, and we've come to realize that the space has been dictating how we manage and grow programs for Fishtown. I would say that, for at least 10 years, we’ve been keeping an eye out for a bigger, more permanent home that would also allow us to be closer to Fishtown.”

While Holmes didn’t have the highest hopes for a new headquarters simply falling into her lap – “There’s only so much property around Fishtown, and Leland itself is kind of a crazy real estate market,” she notes – that’s exactly what happened. Last year, walking past Van’s Garage in downtown Leland, Holmes was stopped by JP Van Raalte, the business’s proprietor. It turned out the Van Raalte family was looking to sell their long-time family home on Lake Street.

“JP asked whether we would consider that property as something that might work for our organization,” Holmes tells the Leelanau Ticker.

Built in 1960 by John and Janice Van Raalte, the house is two stories; the basement opens out onto the Leland River, and the property also has a dock with river access. Most importantly for FPS’s purposes, the land – three lots totaling 0.48 acres – is adjacent to the southern side of Fishtown (pictured, left).

FPS quietly raised $2.2 million to purchase the property. Now the organization is going public with a second phase of fundraising to pay for “substantial modifications to convert a private home into the FPS operations center, as well as to meet modern code and ADA requirements.” Those improvements carry an estimated cost of $1,067,000.

According to the press release, FPS “has raised approximately two-thirds of this total, with $420,000 remaining.” The nonprofit hopes to put together the remaining funds by the end of October, and to begin renovations before the end of the year.

Once work is complete – ideally by the end of 2026 – the Van Raalte house will become the new home base for FPS, serving as office and meeting space for the organization and its soon-to-grow team. With much more space, Holmes foresees adding new employees to grow and oversee Fishtown’s education programs, to handle communications and PR, to assist with fundraising, and to bring in more expertise in how to maintain and preserve historic properties.

“Right now, it’s just two of us basically doing all of those things,” Holmes says. “Our organization is a place where you wear a lot of hats, and that can be a fun thing. But we're definitely willing to let some of our hats be put on other people.”

Holmes says the larger space and its proximity to Fishtown should also allow for new programming opportunities. The dock and its location above the Leland Dam will likely be central to those plans.

“This spot gives us access to Lake Leelanau, which is not something we’ve ever had before,” Holmes says. “So, we're pondering all the possibilities of what that can mean.”

Despite the new possibilities, Holmes promises the building itself will retain its historic character.

“We’re keeping the historic footprint of the house,” she says. “There will be some reconfigurations inside, but the family will absolutely still recognize this house when they come back, just from a general feel. And honestly, the Van Raalte family is a piece of the story of that property that we want to be able to share, because they’re a multi-generation family in the community and have had a big impact on Fishtown.”

According to the release, the Van Raalte family originally approached FPS “because they preferred that a not-for-profit acquire the property rather than a commercial developer.” Zoned commercial rather than residential, the three lots feasibly could have allowed “multiple structures up to 35 in height.”

“By purchasing the property, FPS forestalls development and preserves the existing river viewshed from the M-22 bridge, helping to sustain the current look and feel of both Fishtown and Leland,” the press release states.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the dock at the Van Raalte property could give FPS the ability to bring a pair of out-of-service vessels, the Mary Ann and the Helen S, back to Fishtown. Amanda Holmes has since clarified that those projects "can’t happen at the Van Raalte property or at the docks because there’s no way to get [the boats] there, the river is too shallow, and there’s not enough land to handle such big project." However, FPS is looking for other opportunities to bring those boats back to Fishtown, and Holmes hopes the larger staff enabled by the new headquarters will pave the way for such an eventuality.