Ahead of schedule may be the best way to describe what’s going on at
Harbor Shores so far this year. Sales are ahead of projections, a trail system project is moving ahead and overall things literally are going up.
Harbor Shores is a 530-acre master-planned community spanning parts of Benton Harbor, St. Joseph, and Benton Charter Township initiated to revitalize the community and protect its natural assets, like rivers, marshes and sand dunes.
Harbor Shores will be home to nearly 800 residences, including cottages, signature homes, town homes and condominiums with the Jack Nicklaus golf course at its center.
Plans call for the development, which could take 20 years to complete, to feature a full calendar of events and world-class amenities, including a marina village and riverwalk, town center with restaurants and shops, health and fitness center, deep-water marinas, with a boutique hotel and spa, miles of recreational trails and rivers, and acres of parks and green space.
Harbor Shores' director of sales and marketing Kerry Wright says buyers are coming from across the region including Chicago and its west and southern suburbs, South Bend and Kalamazoo. From outside the region, buyers from Hawaii and Ohio have decided to buy property at Harbor Shores.
Six of 29 homes have been sold in the Fairways neighborhood, single family homes that start at $400,000 overlooking holes 3, 4 and 5 of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and along the Paw Paw River. Three of those houses already are complete.
Cottage homes in the Hideaway priced from the high-$300,000s to $600,000s, are going fast. Of 27 homes in the first phase of the development 23 have sold. Ultimately, the neighborhood will feature 58 homes. Some of the draws to homes in the Hideaway are a river clubhouse, swimming pool and hot tub, fire pits and private kayak/canoe docks.
In The Trailside Cottages neighborhood, which became available 30 days ago, nine of 19 properties have been reserved, Wright says. They’re priced from $199,000 to $350,000 and offer views of Hole 6, Lake Michigan sand dunes and natural marshland.
"Overall, we are about nine months ahead of schedule as it relates to residential real estate sales and development," Wright says.
Next up, is the River Club, a marina village, featuring condominium and townhome living, along with retail shops, restaurants, and a 57-slip deep water marina less than a mile from Lake Michigan. Residents will have easy access to aquatic adventure on the lake and rivers, or they can simply enjoy the views.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Kerry Wright, Harbor Shores
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.