After spending years closing deals on local residences and commercial properties, the mother-daughter duo of Dorothy Mottl and Ale Forburger, with D. MottL Reality Group, have opened their newest venture in downtown Dowagiac.

An opening nearly three years in the making, the realtors welcome the community to its new branch office, located at 228 S. Front St. To celebrate , the company is inviting the public to its annual Christmas party and open house, which takes place from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15.

The Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting for the new building in conjunction with celebration, at 4:30 p.m.

For Mottl and Forburger — both residents of Dowagiac — the opening of the company’s new downtown office marks the next chapter for the growing real estate firm, which serves property owners across southwest Michigan.

Mottl, a former educator with the Benton Harbor School District, established D. MottL in 2007 in her former hometown of Buchanan, after spending years buying, restoring and selling homes part-time while teaching.

Although her company, like other real estate firms across the U.S., suffered a loss of business following the housing crash in 2008, Mottl was able to use the downturn to develop her company’s reputation and clientele, she said.

“We have always earned more income every year since the crash,” Mottl said. “Our growth has been amazing.”

Her daughter came on board with the firm in 2008, with the two working alongside each other since.

“Her and I built the brokerage together to get where we are today,” Mottl said. “We did not get here without a lot of long hours, frustrations or headaches along the way, though. It has been a ride.”

Today, the brokerage has nine agents — many of whom are also former teachers — working in both the Buchanan and Dowagiac offices, with another two joining shortly, Mottl said.

Forburger will serve as the managing agent of the Dowagiac office, with her mother continuing to head up the Buchanan branch, Mottl said.

Since acquiring the Front Street property three years, Mottl and Forburger have worked to restore the former hair salon into a simple yet elegant office for the firm’s agents to work out of.

Assisted by funds from the Downtown Development Authority’s façade improvement program, the pair built a new storefront outside the space. On the inside, they have incorporated many of the existing design elements, such as the original wood ceiling, with some new ones, such as a new tin ceiling that replicates those found in other buildings downtown, Mottl said.

Although they are still in the process of putting the final touches on the building, agents have already met clients inside the new office, Mottl said.

Forburger said she is excited about taking over the office, especially as it will cut down on her regular commute and will give her more time to help out with the Dowagiac chamber, where she serves as a board member, as well as other causes around the community.

“It is kind of sad in a way, because she [my mother] and I will not work together everyday like before,” Forburger said. “Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a work relationship with their mother that works, so it has been great working alongside her all these years.”

For more information about the office or the company, people may call Forburger at (269) 591-0036.