If you know Harbor Springs in Northern Michigan you understand that cool—as in moneyed, chi-chi, and green-and-pink polos—is the village pedigree. But here’s a scoop on this most fashionable of Lake Michigan towns: Harbor Springs is looking to reinvent itself. Yup, Harbor Springs wants young families, as in folks who earn money the old fashioned way. Community leaders are jamming ideas to attract new businesses into their downtown. Though investment enticements have yet to be formalized, this Northern Michigan town already has plenty to offer families—miles of Lake Michigan beaches, natural areas galore, two ski resorts in its backyard, a beloved kids sailing program and a school system that counts within its tiny graduating classes a high percentage of kids bound for the best Michigan colleges and universities and even the Ivy League. Then there’s that it-takes-a-village spirit that all but lights up the Northern Michigan Main Street. Case in point: when 11-year-old Harbor Springs’ resident Noah Bassett broke his leg recently, the local café made a surprise hot chocolate home delivery.
Here’s a live/work combo to get a young family scheming to move the brood:510 W. Summit Street
Five bedrooms, 2.5 baths, two-car garage, a block away from Harbor Springs’ schools and a downhill saunter to Main Street.
$325,000. Graham Real Estate, 231.526.6251, grahamre.com.
118 S. Main The plan: one parent works remotely, another runs the art gallery (antique shop? boutique?) you’ve both fantasized about for years from this 815-square-foot downtown retail shop. When school lets out the kids walk home to the Summit Street address we’ve paired this with, or stop in at the store on Main Street. Sweet!
$199,000. Graham Real Estate, 231.526.6251, grahamre.com.