The Leelanau Ticker revisited the Empire subdivision that sat platted but undeveloped for decades, and is now the new neighborhood, The Village at M22. The homes are walkable to Empire restaurants, shops, the village beach and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore headquarters and cost between $279,000 to $314,000 — a price tag local housing advocate Frank Clements says puts the new housing in the “working-age category,” which is needed across the county.

The real estate agent for the project, Carey Ford with Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors of Glen Arbor, tells the Leelanau Ticker that interest in the neighborhood has been off the charts. “The Village at M22 is on fire…of the 10 homes in Phase 1, I have contracts for seven.” She adds that the buyers so far are a mix of people who already live in the area and people from Detroit and Chicago.

Among the three homes still available: the farmhouse at 11528 Sunset Drive, Empire, still under construction. 

Ford says the builders Roger and Jason Send (father and son) of Cornerstone Homes, TC are also starting to take reservations for the neighnorhood's vacant parcels.