The ancient engineers who built The Great Pyramid of Giza had moving massive stones and deadly work conditions to deal with. Beach Club construction teams had, building permit delays and piping plovers. We can joke about it now, but only because guests and residents now all agree—The Homestead’s stunning Beach Club remodel effort proved well worth the wait.

 

blog_beach-club-boardwalk

 

Difficult timelines and impossible constraints are part of any ambitious construction effort.  But no one could have anticipated some of the small hurdles construction crews were going to face when The Homestead offered guests and resident a sneak peek at Beach Club remodel plans in 2015. Click here to see the original, hand drawn conceptual sketch.

 

“When it came to the actual work—despite the scope of some key projects and heavy machinery involved—all that went very smoothly,” says senior manager Tom Bartholomew. “It was the small things. It seemed like anything little that could come along and slow down the project did.”

 

Slow turnaround on some important permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Environmental Quality topped the list. And then there were understandable delays like the concern that nesting piping plovers might be disturbed. Bartholomew says this meant no major construction along the beach front was even attempted during the spring.

 

“Repair of the Beach Club’s battered forty-year-old seawall and boardwalk involved a lot of noise, crews and trucks coming and going and that massive crane that was on-sight for months,” recalls Bartholomew. “This naturally drew some complaints. But, overall, guests and residents were incredibly patient. Now that everything is officially complete, the results are really stunning and I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback. Everyone definitely thinks the inconvenience was worth it.”

 

Now, is a perfect time to check out The Homestead’s most scenic attraction. Come for a game of tennis, a dip in the pool, lunch or dinner at Café Manitou, or a sunset cocktail on the deck of the only beachfront café in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Click here for Café Manitou menu options, hours of operation and reservation information.