Led by founder and owner Bill Chalmers, Cartessa Real Estate Company specializes in the development of affordable housing. Bill recently completed the 64-unit Westwood North apartment complex and is newly constructed with the 72-unit Westwood South complex, both on the Pontiac/Bloomfield border in Oakland County, Michigan. Four years ago, within the same vicinity of the previous two new developments, Bill completely renovated a former dormitory into 26-unit apartment building.
Prior to the apartments, Bill completed a 18,000 square foot building renovation which transformed a vacant single-tenant office building into 44 individual suites that was fully leased within three months of opening to the public. He and his team also completed a 30,000 sq ft building renovation and addition of a former chapel for a regional provider of elder care services, completed the comprehensive redevelopment of the 33,000 square foot office complex now known as “North Greenfield Office Park” and anchored by Ascension Healthcare and the remaining buildings are 100% occupied by executive office users.
Prior to his healthcare work, Bill owned and developed 20 corners and outlots for national retailers like Walgreens, Starbucks, and Regions Bank f.k.a. AmSouth Bank. These developments were in Michigan and Florida and 15 were former gasoline service stations. During the recession, Bill performed third party construction services for a highly dynamic construction firm, DA Contracting, headquartered in Southfield, Michigan.
Bill is a graduate of the University of Michigan and previously served as a Planning Commissioner for Shelby Township, Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals for Rochester Hills, served on that city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and Public Safety and Infrastructure Technical Review Committee, served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center, and was a guest speaker at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 2019. Most recently, Bill was appointed to the city commission overseeing Pontiac’s five-year development plan.
