Work has been going on for about a month, but ground has officially been broken on yet another development on Galesburg’s northern end.
City and economic development leaders gathered Thursday for the groundbreaking on a new development on North Seminary Street, starting behind the new Aldi’s location, that will be a mix of retail and new housing.
Mike Martin is behind the development.
“We initially thought we were going to get started in September,” says Martin. “It took probably another month to eight weeks. It’s just getting bonds, getting permits, getting…everything worked out between the city lawyers and my lawyers, and getting all the issues worked out.”
Work on building a new road and retail property construction will be done first, and Martin says building of more than two-dozen condominiums priced between $150,000 and $200,000 will likely follow, starting a year from now.
While many may known him as a landlord, Martin tells WGIL it won’t be the first time he’s built new homes.
“Twenty years ago, in 1997, I did the residential area out by Lake Storey called Castlebury Estates Phase Two,” says Martin. “It was a farm field just like [on North Seminary] — corn field — and we developed that. We built 27 houses on that in six years, and put in new roads, sidewalks, and everything. So it’s just like this, actually.”
Martin says he hopes to market the new homes to “young professionals” or people working at places like OSF Saint Mary Medical Center.
As for the retail, Martin says he has no idea yet what types of businesses will go in that section.
Martin says with all the other development on North Seminary, he feels his development is coming at the right time.
