Smart Living

The New Neighborhood is ideally located where you want to be. Day-to-day needs are within a convenient walk from the New Neighborhood. Limitless recreational activities are close by:

  • Easy walk to all Empire amenities: grocery store, post office, bank, service stations, public library, etc.
  • 7 miles to Glen Lake Community Schools – Home of great academics and championship sports teams.
  • Located in the heart of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with 75,000 acres of national forest and the occasional rural historic district.
  • A short walk to Lake Michigan, Empire’s Public Beach and the Empire Bluffs Trail.
  • 25 miles to Traverse City: Arts, Work, Shopping, Dining, Industry
  • Trail networks for hiking, biking, skiing, snow shoeing, horseback riding—including the new non-motorized Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail

Join a growing group of ordinary citizens with special concern for our rural landscape. Protect valuable countryside from encroaching development known as ‘urban sprawl’ by building energy efficient homes on yard-sized lots in the New Neighborhood. Like all of Empire, take advantage of the natural weather patterns—cooler by the lake in summer, warmer by the lake in winter. Grow organic vegetables in the New Neighborhood Community Garden. Walk to amenities and experience freedom from fossil-fuel consumption. Embrace a community style of living, saving irreplaceable open spaces for future enjoyment. Lets keep the cherry trees blooming!