By Susan Carroll

Review Writer

The ground has broken on the mixed-use four-story development located next to the Paint Creek dam at 120 S. Broadway.

The property is owned by Jeff Smith of JS Capital Group, who acquired the property last year and is also the builder and developer.

The first floor will be 9,000 square feet of prime retail space and the upper three floors will be 24 upscale apartments, 8 units per floor, that will be “the nicest apartments from here to Rochester,” said Smith. “The design concepts of the apartments will be fantastic, built with high quality items such as flooring and appliances.”

The apartments range in size from 800 square foot studios up to 1,500 square foot apartments. He expects the pricing to be between $1,200 to $2,000 per month.

“There has been a high level of interest in the retail space available. There is a local dentist looking at the space, as well as several restaurants,” said Smith.

Separating the retail from the residential floor will be ten inches of precast. The estimated development cost is $7 million dollars.

Demolition and site excavating will continue, weather permitting, for the next 30-45 days. The retaining wall by the river is due to start going up this week.

Smith plans on having the first floor up by the first of January and at that point, construction will stop for the winter.

JS Capital Group is testing the market in Lake Orion, to see how the village reacts to having this type of urban living. Smith expects that the residents of the apartments will be young professionals and a middle-aged market.

If Lake Orion embraces the “culturesphere” market as Smith calls it, he plans on considering developing more properties in the area.

On the adjacent property at 102 S. Broadway, owned by Dia Zargara who owns Sagebrush Cantina, excavation is taking place and footings have been poured.