The History of Hamlet Circle.   History, even recent, is hard to piece together when the main players have disappeared. We know that this land between Coolidge and Abbott roads consisted of open sod farm and, in the midst of it, Davis Airport, named after a Lansing aviator of the 1920s. The airport closed in 2000, and Lansing Classic Living, LLC, purchased the site of the Villas at Stratford Place from Chandler Farms in October, 2004.

According to Clinton County records, however, liens appear against the developers as early as 2005. We can only surmise the reason was lack of adequate capital. The blueprint of the new community had proved successful not only in other cities in Michigan but throughout the US.  A key element of the plan required installing the complete infrastructure for all 80 homes and constructing a clubhouse and pool, before starting to build (let alone selling) any individual homes. This worked for a very large national builder, like Epcon Communities (see below), from whom Lansing Classic presumably obtained a license. For a small company, however, this must have created a horrendous cash flow problem. The result was bankruptcy and finally foreclosure by the lender. The bank then owned the development outright for a year or two before forming a new company, Landing Holdings, LLC, to act as successor developer, managed by M. Shapiro Development.

We have pgathered much of the above from the Clinton County register of deeds. Others may know more, or be able to correct some of these assumptions. If so, please email us your comments.