A recent Lake Leelanau sale shows how one property—and one thoughtful decision—can make a difference for a local business and Leelanau County’s workforce.
At Schaub Team Premier Realty, we know that real estate in Leelanau County is about more than property. The people who buy homes, land and businesses here become part of the communities that make this area special.
This Lake Leelanau transaction is a great example.
When 300 W. Philip Street in Lake Leelanau came on the market, the property included an established self-storage business along with a cottage. The unique combination attracted considerable interest and ultimately received multiple offers.
“It is an interesting property with a lot of possibilities, and the listing generated multiple offers reflecting that,” said Schaub Team’s Roger Schaub. “The storage business was well established, but the cottage gave a new owner some additional flexibility.”
The eventual buyers live outside the area but have longstanding connections to Leelanau County. They weren't simply looking for an investment. They saw the property as an opportunity to become more involved in a community they already cared about while providing a useful local service.
The storage business, now Mitten Self Storage, provided that opportunity.
But what they decided to do with the cottage created an unexpected ripple effect.
Choosing a Different Use for the Cottage
The cottage had previously been used as a short-term rental. The new owners could have continued operating it that way but instead decided to make it available as a year-round rental.
They reached out to nearby Fiddleheads to see whether the home could help provide housing for an employee.
“Throughout the purchase, it was clear that they wanted to become more connected to Leelanau County,” said Schaub Team’s Jamie Jewell. “They were excited about the business, but they were also thinking about how they could contribute in a meaningful way to the community.”
That decision quickly demonstrated just how closely housing and workforce are connected in Leelanau County.
The buyers recently shared with Jamie that Fiddleheads owner Joshua Deters had advertised for a chef with optional housing available. As reported in a September 25 Glen Arbor Sun article, the response was dramatically different from what Deters had experienced with previous job postings: more than 80 people responded when housing was included as an option.
Read “A Housing Success Story in the Heart of Leelanau County” in the Glen Arbor Sun
The response made an impression on Jamie.
“When they told me the job posting with housing had generated more than 80 responses, that really struck me,” Jewell said. “It’s such a tangible example of how much housing can affect a local business’s ability to attract employees.”
A job may be available, but if a prospective employee can't find a reasonable place to live nearby, accepting that job can be difficult. In this case, one existing cottage gave a local employer another tool to attract potential employees.
A Small Decision with a Local Impact
No single cottage is going to solve Leelanau County's housing challenges. But this story illustrates something important: meaningful solutions don't always have to be large.
Sometimes they begin with a property owner asking, “Is there another way we can use what we have?”
For the owners of Mitten Self Storage, making the cottage available as a long-term rental provided an opportunity to help another local business while putting an existing home to use for someone working in the community.
For Roger, the most interesting part of the story is what happened after the sale.
“You don't always know what the next chapter of a property will be,” Schaub said. “It's rewarding to see this one being used in a way that supports both a local business and the community.”
Today, the property is serving several purposes: the storage units continue to provide a needed service, new owners are becoming part of the Lake Leelanau business community, and the cottage is helping another local business address a very real workforce challenge.
It's a relatively small example, but a meaningful one—and a reminder that real estate isn't only about what changes hands at closing. Sometimes it's about what happens next.
