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As an example of the types of collaboration Holladay is involved with, earlier this year, they broke ground on the Haskell Building in Michigan City, which is now finished. In addition, the 56,000-square foot multi-tenant light industrial building has already signed its first tenant. This is part of the new AmeriPlex-Marquette business park and adds much to the growth of Michigan City as a whole through added revenue and new jobs. This is just one example of collaborations Holladay has made with organizations like EDCMC and the Redevelopment Commission, which Babcock is a member of.

“Holladay is a first-class developer in the Midwest. Their developments are always showpieces within their communities and their expertise makes deal making simpler and more efficient,” said Bert Cook, Executive Director at the Greater La Porte Economic Development Corporation.

Few things work a city into as much fervor as a new building development does, from retail to industrial, conversation always swirls about new job opportunities, economic growth, and more. Michigan City welcomed that excitement on Tuesday as they cut the ribbon on their newest development in the city, the Haskell Building.

Boasting roughly 64,000 square feet of space, with room for up to 8 individual tenants, the building offers high quality industrial/flex space and utilities. Developed by Holladay Properties and built by Holladay Construction Group, the building is sure to provide a kick-start to economic development.

“It’s an opportunity,” said Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer. “Part of this building’s already been leased out, every time a business expands into these buildings, it’s job opportunities for the community - new buildings, fresh jobs - it’s really important to us.”

The Haskell Building came to be through a partnership between Holladay, the Michigan City Redevelopment Commission, Economic Development Corporation Michigan City, the Meer administration, and Tom Crane, former owner of the neighboring Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM dealership. The ribbon cutting is a long time coming, as the idea formed back in 2016. Mike Micka, Vice President of Development at Holladay’s Portage office and leader of the Haskell Building project, voiced his excitement about building in Michigan City.

“What a project like this is going to bring is, first of all, a tax increment to the city off the real estate taxes,” said Micka. “Really, what we’re trying to get is job growth. A typical building like this is going to bring somewhere around 50 to 125 employees. That’s what Michigan City was going for, more manufacturers and more places for people to go in the city.”

Holladay Properties worked with Michigan City to make sure their development brought as much economic potential to the city as possible. A key partner in this was the Economic Development Corporation of Michigan City, who worked with Micka and his team on reading the market in the city. The result is a building with great parking, industrial capacity, and everything a business needs to succeed in a competitive market. Don Babcock, President of the city’s Redevelopment Commission, addressed the crowd before the mayor cut the ribbon.