David T. Caldon

Real Estate, Land Use and Municipal Attorney

Dave focuses his practice on real estate, land use and municipal law. He serves as the City Attorney for the cities of Grandville and Belding and has experience representing both private developers and municipalities in all aspects of municipal and transactional real estate law. He regularly represents developers throughout the state on renewable energy and other large-scale infrastructure projects. His experience includes utility-scale solar, wind, battery energy storage, energy infrastructure, and data center site development.

Dave represents project sponsors and commercial developers throughout all phases of the development lifecycle, including site control and due diligence, land acquisition, zoning and entitlements (including the state’s renewable energy siting process), special land use and conditional use approvals, site plan review, variances, development agreements, construction contracting, and construction and permanent financing. He coordinates public engagement strategies, and structures agreements with municipalities and agencies, including road use, drainage, and public utility coordination. He is experienced with title and survey matters, easements and access, interconnection and crossing agreements, environmental and natural resources issues, agricultural preservation, and tax and incentive structuring tied to land use approvals.

In his municipal practice, Dave counsels cities, villages, and townships on zoning and land use administration, ordinance drafting and updates related to renewable energy and emerging technologies, moratoria and interim controls, and the review of applications for land divisions, rezoning, planned unit developments, and other discretionary approvals. He partners with planning staff and elected officials to manage complex, high-visibility projects, ensuring procedurally sound records and defensible decisions.

Drawing on deep experience from both developer and governmental perspectives, Dave provides practical, solutions-oriented guidance that anticipates permitting challenges, mitigates risk, and facilitates timely, cost-effective project delivery. He also advises on commercial real estate transactions and leasing across office, retail, industrial, and logistics assets, and maintains a complementary practice counseling condominium developers and associations.

Honors and Recognitions

Best Lawyers in America^®, Real Estate Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Municipal Law, since 2018

Grand Rapids Magazine, Top Lawyers, Real Estate Law, 2019 – 2022, 2024

Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Go To Lawyer, Commercial  Real Estate, 2025

Michigan Super Lawyers^® Rising Star

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association: Litigation Section; State and Local Government Law Section

State Bar of Michigan: Litigation Section; Public Corporation Law Section; Real Property Law Section

Grand Rapids Bar Association: Litigation Section; State and Local Government Law Section