He said demand for retail space has "held its own."

While the building frenzy in Macomb County has slowed somewhat from the frenzy of the late 1990s, construction activity remains strong in the county. Through the first eight months of 2003, 3,369 residential building permits were issued in the county- a 4.7% increase from the same time period in 2002. The nine-county southeast Michigan region as a whole saw a 1.5% increase in that time period.

Michael Chirco, who operates MJC Companies, said more and more in Macomb County, condos are being built rather than detached homes.

"Over the past year, I'm sure that more than 50% of the housing starts in Macomb were for condos," he said.

"Four years ago, we were doing all houses, many in the 3,000-sf range. If we had stayed in that segment, we would have closed the doors on our company," he said.

"I think it is going to continue to be the multiple-type units where you see the growth- places where you don't have to worry about the grass, the painting, a crack in the driveway, you have an association that does that," he said.

The forum was sponsored by the Macomb Community Bank and by the Central Macomb Chamber of Commerce.