Great Lakes Development Group

What Great Lakes Development Group does

Great Lakes Development Group is a privately-held real estate development and investment firm focused on revitalizing West Michigan towns, with a particular concentration on downtown Muskegon. The company is a two-person partnership led by co-founders and Managing Members Josh Canale and Jeff Royce, who collectively bring over 35 years of combined experience in commercial real estate across mixed-use, multi-family, office, retail, and hospitality asset classes. Prior to founding the firm, Canale participated in over $250 million in development in Chicago, and Royce delivered over $300 million in urban mixed-use projects in Atlanta.

The firm's product portfolio includes completed and planned mixed-use, residential, commercial, hospitality, and entertainment developments. The completed core product is Lake View Lofts Phase 1, a 6-story mixed-use building with 20 market-rate apartments, a ground-floor grocery (Boom Town Market), and a second-floor marketing agency (Revel), completed in 2019. The current pipeline includes Lake View Lofts Phase 2 (15 additional apartments, retail, commercial space, rooftop restaurant), Foundry Square (a 7.2-acre brownfield redevelopment), Microtel Inns & Suites (hospitality), Foundry Lanes (entertainment), and Woodrow's Pin & Pint (a 7-lane duckpin bowling venue opened January 2022 in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel).

The business model is project-based real estate development: the firm identifies, develops, and invests in properties, generating revenue through property sales, leasing of residential and commercial spaces, and potentially property management services. Distribution is direct, with properties leased or sold to end users without intermediaries. The go-to-market is sales-led, with the firm actively seeking development and investment opportunities in West Michigan. The customer base is a mix of residential tenants, small local businesses, and hospitality/entertainment operators, with marketed media coverage in regional outlets (MiBiz, Grand Rapids Business Journal, MLive) supporting tenant recruitment and project visibility.

Name

Great Lakes Development Group

Legal name

Great Lakes Development Group

Website

https://greatlakesdevgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Great Lakes Development Group is a two-person West Michigan real estate development and investment firm that revitalizes downtown Muskegon through mixed-use, residential, commercial, hospitality, and entertainment developments, serving local tenants, small businesses, and hospitality operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Development

NAICS

Land Subdivision (23721), New Housing For-Sale Builders (236117)

SIC

Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552), Operative Builders (1531), General Bldg Contractors - Residential Bldgs (1520)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAFABAL

Residential Land Development & Subdivision Homebuilding (Build-to-Sell Communities)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Construction & Civil Engineering/Residential Building Construction

SECONDARYEUAIALAI

Brownfield Redevelopment & Land Reclamation (Cleanup for Reuse, Risk-Based Closure)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Services (Waste Management, Recycling & Remediation)/Remediation Services (Soil, Groundwater, Sediment)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate development
• Mixed-use developments
• Urban revitalization
• Multi-family housing
• Real estate investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Spring Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Development and Investment: The firm develops commercial and mixed-use real estate properties and generates revenue through property sales, leasing of residential and commercial spaces, and potentially property management services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Great Lakes Development Group is a real estate development and investment firm that develops mixed-use, multi-family, commercial, hospitality, and entertainment properties in West Michigan, particularly in downtown Muskegon. The firm identifies underutilized urban parcels (including brownfield sites), assembles public-private partnerships and infrastructure, and delivers projects that are leased to commercial tenants and residential occupants or sold to end buyers.

Product overview

Great Lakes Development Group is a real estate development and investment firm offering a portfolio of mixed-use, multi-family, commercial, hospitality, and entertainment properties in West Michigan, particularly downtown Muskegon. The portfolio includes completed projects like Lake View Lofts Phase 1 (20-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail), planned expansions (Lake View Lofts Phase 2), brownfield redevelopment sites (Foundry Square), hotel development (Microtel Inns & Suites), entertainment venues (Foundry Lanes, Woodrow's Pin & Pint). The company specializes in urban mixed-use developments targeting revitalization of downtown areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lake View Lofts Phase 1 A 6-story mixed-use building at 351 W. Western Ave. in Downtown Muskegon, featuring Boom Town Market (neighborhood grocery) on the first floor, Revel marketing agency on the second floor, and 20 market-rate apartments on floors 3-6. Completed in 2019.
• Lake View Lofts Phase 2 Planned expansion connected to Phase 1, featuring ground floor retail, second floor commercial space, 15 market-rate apartments, and a rooftop restaurant with outdoor seating and lake views.
• Foundry Square A 7.2-acre brownfield redevelopment parcel in downtown Muskegon being improved with new road and underground utilities infrastructure, with a master plan dividing the site into smaller developable lots.
• Microtel Inns & Suites Hotel development project in downtown Muskegon.
• Foundry Lanes Recreation/entertainment venue project in downtown Muskegon.
• Woodrow's Pin & Pint Duckpin bowling venue featuring 7 lanes located in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, with food available from multiple local restaurants. Opened January 2022.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Boom Town MarketcoreOthersTenant occupant of the first floor of Lake View Lofts Phase 1. A small neighborhood grocery store featuring a great selection of Michigan beer and wine. Part of the mixed-use development that is central to the company's revitalization mission.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kirco: Michigan-based diversified real estate developer with mixed-use, multi-family, office, retail, and senior living projects across the Midwest — comparable regional focus, asset class mix, and family/founder-owned operating model.
• Bedrock: Dan Gilbert's Detroit-based urban real estate firm specializing in large-scale downtown revitalization, mixed-use developments, and adaptive reuse in a Michigan rust-belt city — directly comparable to GLDG's Muskegon revitalization thesis, just at a far larger scale.
• Etkin Equities: Michigan-based real estate investment and development company with a portfolio spanning multifamily, mixed-use, office, and retail — comparable private Michigan developer with multi-asset-class urban focus.
• REDICO: Michigan-based real estate development and investment firm active in mixed-use, office, retail, and multi-family projects across the Midwest — directly comparable regional competitor targeting secondary downtown markets.
• CA Ventures: Chicago-based vertically integrated real estate investment and development firm operating across student housing, multifamily, mixed-use, and hospitality — comparable asset class breadth and urban infill focus to GLDG.
• Hunter Pasteur Homes: Michigan-based homebuilder and residential developer with mixed-use and planned community projects across the state — comparable as a Michigan-rooted private developer with residential and mixed-use capabilities.
• The Annex Group: Midwest-focused real estate developer active in affordable and mixed-use housing in secondary cities, with a regional development platform model — comparable to GLDG's focus on smaller-market downtown revitalization and mixed-use product.
• Oxford Capital Group: Chicago-based mixed-use and hospitality real estate developer with deep experience in urban infill, mixed-use, and hospitality projects — comparable to GLDG's Chicago/Atlanta founder backgrounds and mixed-use, multi-family, hospitality portfolio mix.
• Lormax Stern: Michigan-based privately held real estate investment and development firm with mixed-use, retail, office, and industrial projects — comparable private, founder-led Midwestern developer profile.

Broad incumbents

• Schostak Brothers & Co. Established Michigan-based diversified real estate company with mixed-use, retail, office, multi-family, and development projects across the Midwest — comparable as a broader, longer-tenured Michigan development incumbent with overlapping asset classes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GreatLakesDevGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/great-lakes-development-group-mkg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Lakes Development Group