If you’ve spent any time in downtown Northville, you probably know the building at 560 S Main. It started out in the 1950s as a prototypical Chevy dealership. Over the years, it was home to the Northville Record, then McDonald Ford, and for the last 12 years, a CrossFit gym. Sitting next to the Northville Farmers Market, it’s a building many locals have a memory of.
Steve Valli recently closed the sale of 560 S Main, and for him, the story behind it matters as much as the deal itself.
The sale is the third transaction Steve and the Thomas Duke team have completed on this corner for longtime clients Jeff and Terry Snyder. The team previously sold the property that became the home of the Northville Farmers Market, and leased the retail center across the street. Three deals for the same family is something Steve calls a highlight of his career. In commercial real estate, repeat business is the biggest compliment a client can give.
What made this sale especially meaningful was how Jeff approached it. He cared about the building’s history and was open to selling instead of leasing, but only if the right buyer and the right use came along. Keeping the roof, windows, block, and landscaping true to how they looked in the 1950s became part of the negotiation. The buyer, Adam Oberski, President and Owner of Century 21 Curran and Oberski, had outgrown his leased location down the road and wanted to establish permanent roots in Northville by owning rather than leasing. He agreed to honor the building’s character, and renovations are now underway to fit his business.
The timing fits the moment downtown Northville is in. A new river walk and park have opened, the farmers market moved into its new home last year, and hundreds of new residences are on the way at the Downs Development. For Steve, being part of that growth is rewarding, especially when it means preserving a piece of the town’s past.
