3 new apartment buildings proposed downtown

[Allison Slater]

That really transforms that corner in a huge way, visually.

[John E]

Photo updates for August 29, 2013.

 

 

[John E]

Here are a couple shots of the 240 Ionia construction.

 

[RegalTDP]

205 Division is really looking great.

 

Thanks for the pics John.  I really like this perspective, with Herkimer in the background:

 

 

 

 

 

[SupercityGR]

Looking really good! thank you for the pictures

[GRDadof3]

I think it'd be really cool if those buildings were really going to be colored orange-ish red and blue.

[joeDowntown]

Agreed. In a weird way, I like the colors. Just call it a nod to GR's dutch heritage.

 

Joe

[John E]

 

240 Ionia

[GRDadof3]

 

240 Ionia

 

 

It'll be interesting to see what kind of siding they use on those two on Cherry. We know it's not masonry.

[WMrapids]

Still not sure how I feel about the looks of this...

[GRDadof3]

Glad somebody bumped this. I think the colors and materials are pretty cool.

 

 

 

For 240 Ionia, so what design do you think they went with?

 

Door A

 

 

 

Door B

 

 

 

or Door C

 

 

 

 

 

I'm guessing the third one (or a mixture of all of them) since that's on their website now. Other question, why does it look like the floors are slanted? I thought maybe it was parking levels in the floors above the ground floor retail, but it doesn't look wide enough for cars (and I can't figure out where a ramp would be). Crazy.

 

These are the most recent pics I have from back in November, before they started framing the upper floors.

 

 

[MJLO]

The construction on 240 Ionia seems to have slowed considerably they havent made much progress since the weather turned awful.  I hope they aren't working in such awful cold. 

[joeDowntown]

I like Door C. 

 

If you look at the rendering, it does look like the backside has a parking ramp look to it with maybe a row of apartments on the front (in your pic, it looks flat on the Ionia side). Just a guess.

 

 

Joe

[GRDadof3]

Right now there are two floors above the concrete floors that are timber framed. Based on Door C, it would appear that two more floors would need to be added. Maybe it's just too d*mn cold to frame out there, up at those heights.

[GRDadof3]

Ok, instead of talking about it, I took some photos yesterday.  Strange. One look at the floorplans could probably answer a lot of questions.

 

 

 

In the drawing, you can start to see where the metal framing openings is starting to mimick the rendering. The right hand side on the front is puzzling to me though with the slanted floors. The rendering shows apartments, but it looks more like parking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is nice, but I assume the parcel behind it could be built upon and would cover this up.

 

[The ATX]

It's really great to see residential projects happening downtown.

[GRDadof3]

It's really great to see residential projects happening downtown.

 

Yeah, there are about 20 of them THC. Luckily some market rate projects are starting to crop up.

[Gorath]

 

 

The original design.  This was supposed to be two and half stories of parking with residential built on top.  The total building height was said by the developer to be seven stories.  But look at the rendering. What chew talkin about?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it seems to make sense.  I never could wrap my head around what a half story of parking was.  But I think what they meant was that half the first floor was parking and the other half commercial retail.  And two stories of parking above that.  For a total of two and a half stories of parking.  I see that now in the construction photo.  And look at the new rendering.  Now that building is seven stories!

 

Now if the building being built now is the one in the latest rendering. And I believe that it is. Then those windows on the 2nd & 3rd "floors" is just a false facade.  There will be cars parked behind those windows.

[GRDadof3]

The original design.  This was supposed to be two and half stories of parking with residential built on top.  The total building height was said by the developer to be seven stories.  But look at the rendering. What chew talkin about?

 

 

 

Now it seems to make sense.  I never could wrap my head around what a half story of parking was.  But I think what they meant was that half the first floor was parking and the other half commercial retail.  And two stories of parking above that.  For a total of two and a half stories of parking.  I see that now in the construction photo.  And look at the new rendering.  Now that building is seven stories!

 

Now if the building being built now is the one in the latest rendering. And I believe that it is. Then those windows on the 2nd & 3rd "floors" is just a false facade.  There will be cars parked behind those windows.

 

I agree. The more I look at that rendering, the more I think they're showing some transparency there on those floors to signify that they are parking levels, probably partially open to allow venting. In fact, I think I spot a car in that second floor corner window. Looks better than a layered cake design.

 

I also noticed today that the upper floors are indeed poured concrete. I thought they were just steel framed. That might explain why they stopped moving upward, due to extreme cold temperatures and getting the concrete to cure? I know other projects around here have gone all year round concrete pouring but was it as cold as it has been this year?

[Gorath]

 

I think this is either the 2nd or 3rd floor parking level.  Now the sloped parking levels have me more confused.  Just where are they sloping to?  Floor drains?

[WMrapids]

I agree. The more I look at that rendering, the more I think they're showing some transparency there on those floors to signify that they are parking levels, probably partially open to allow venting. In fact, I think I spot a car in that second floor corner window. Looks better than a layered cake design.

Just noticed the cars too. It looks like there's another near the center with a wheel showing. Just felt like I was reading one of those search and find children's books for a second.

[GRDadof3]

 

I think this is either the 2nd or 3rd floor parking level.  Now the sloped parking levels have me more confused.  Just where are they sloping to?  Floor drains?

 

Maybe the whole thing is a helix, slowly sloping up as you go around the loop.

 

This may solve it. Here's the back side before they put the brick wall on. I think it's a helix, rising 1/2 a floor on the back side and the front side.

 

Either that or that's the ramp in that aerial shot in the middle, and they had to slope the floors to get the angle of ascent to code. Who knows???

 

 

Okay, scratch my theory, both the front and back slope up to the South, so I'm postulating that you rise up a half floor in the center ramp, and rise the other half on the outside (front or back), then up a half floor in the center, and then you're basically at the top floor of the parking.