Grandville Castle Apartments

[WMrapids]

2 hours ago, GRLaker said:

Highway/industrial runoff pond access! Woooo!

3 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Obviously I don't think the real final drawings have been released to the public. They've probably been tweaked so many times that the construction company is doing a lot on the fly. 

These might be the closest but obviously not in color. 

 

 

 

 

The original drawing and these are pretty similar, it's just that the angle messes with you. I know in the video the same details could be seen as in the drawing, the only thing is that red. I'm pretty sure they're not going to leave the outsides bare cement but that red stood out to me since it should be in the middle portion that wasn't constructed yet.

[x99]

18 hours ago, jthrasher said:

Oh please!!! you've got to be kidding me.  You apparently wouldn't know good looking architecture if it smacked you in the face.  If the castle was actually built like a real castle and not a giant square building with fake looking turrets and windows to make it appear castle like, I might agree with you but all this is is EXACTLY what you say you're against.  All it is is a giant square building with faux looking castle like features.  Not to mention when it's finished it will look like it was built yesterday and not 100 years ago.   

Nah, it's exactly what I love.  Of course they cannot build a "real" castle at this scale.  Thus, most great buildings at their core are little more than square boxes.  The challenge is all in how you make a box more than a box.  This is about as good as it gets for something this scale.  I probably would have made the turrets a bit taller, but beyond that, this is about as good as you could do, all things considered.

[Allison Slater]

Neuschanstein Castle, that this project is inspired from, is not a real castle, either.  It also is a decorated box.  It was built in 1886 with a steel girder frame.  Some of the houses we have in Heritage Hill are older than the "real castle."  It was a mansion built by "mad" King Ludwig of Bavaria who wanted to have a fairy-tale castle built for himself.  It was largely criticized when it was built because it was seen as a gaudy recreation of an idylized time.  It was not built like an actual castle, it was built like a house with fairy-tale castle elements, many of which never existed on castles in the first place.

While I'm not saying Grandville Castle will ever reach the splendor and wonder of the real Neuschwanstein, I do find it amusing that it's criticized for being just a square building with appendages to make it castle-like, which is exactly what Neuschwanstein is.  There's a reason it's called a Schloss in German instead of a Burg.  (A schloss is usually used for a royal palace, and Burg for a fortified castle.)

Edited April 14, 2017 by tSlater

[GRLaker]

1 hour ago, tSlater said:

Neuschanstein Castle, that this project is inspired from, is not a real castle, either.  It also is a decorated box.  It was built in 1886 with a steel girder frame.  Some of the houses we have in Heritage Hill are older than the "real castle."  It was a mansion built by "mad" King Ludwig of Bavaria who wanted to have a fairy-tale castle built for himself.  It was largely criticized when it was built because it was seen as a gaudy recreation of an idylized time.  It was not built like an actual castle, it was built like a house with fairy-tale castle elements, many of which never existed on castles in the first place.

While I'm not saying Grandville Castle will ever reach the splendor and wonder of the real Neuschwanstein, I do find it amusing that it's criticized for being just a square building with appendages to make it castle-like, which is exactly what Neuschwanstein is.  There's a reason it's called a Schloss in German instead of a Burg.  (A schloss is usually used for a royal palace, and Burg for a fortified castle.)

Hopefully the Grandville castle won't suffer the same fate as Neuschwanstein of never being finished.

[Raildude's dad]

6 hours ago, GRLaker said:

Highway/industrial runoff pond access! Woooo!

All those Highway/industrial runoff ponds  from Market St along I-196 and even the "Lakes" in Jension are mined out gravel pits. There was a lot of gravel mined in that area over the last century.

 

[joeDowntown]

24 minutes ago, Raildude's dad said:

All those Highway/industrial runoff ponds  from Market St along I-196 and even the "Lakes" in Jension are mined out gravel pits. There was a lot of gravel mined in that area over the last century.

 

I'd live on a gravel pit. Versluis "Lake" on Northland/Plainfield is a gravel pit. Still a very tranquil view. #justsayin

Joe

[GRDadof3]

3 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

I'd live on a gravel pit. Versluis "Lake" on Northland/Plainfield is a gravel pit. Still a very tranquil view. #justsayin

Joe

Dykema Excavating has mined a lot of gravel pits and then turned them into neighborhoods with pretty expensive homes on them, scattered all over Ottawa County and Southern Kent County. Georgetown Shores I believe was a mining operation before they turned it into a single family home neighborhood. Some of those homes are $1 Million+, on gravel pit lakes (all sports lakes where you can have power boats and jet skis).

Those condos on Versluis are pretty nice, and not cheap. 

 

[jthrasher]

10 hours ago, x99 said:

Nah, it's exactly what I love.  Of course they cannot build a "real" castle at this scale.  Thus, most great buildings at their core are little more than square boxes.  The challenge is all in how you make a box more than a box.  This is about as good as it gets for something this scale.  I probably would have made the turrets a bit taller, but beyond that, this is about as good as you could do, all things considered.

We'll have to disagree to disagree because I've seen it done and work in other cities.  There's a massive lack of creativity in apartment buildings, I'll give you that, I just think this design is ultra cheesy and theme parkish,  not classy and beautiful. 

[MJLO]

3 minutes ago, jthrasher said:

We'll have to disagree to disagree because I've seen it done and work in other cities.  There's a massive lack of creativity in apartment buildings, I'll give you that, I just think this design is ultra cheesy and theme parkish,  not classy and beautiful. 

I agree that it's cheesy if not almost gimicky.  To the point of x99, I think he's just happy to see a developer actually put some thought into design regardless of schtick.  The end product may not be as tacky as some of us are assuming.  It'll be memorable in any case.  Way more aesthetic than the NW Indiana gateway into Chicago land IMHO  

[jthrasher]

8 hours ago, GRLaker said:

Hopefully the Grandville castle won't suffer the same fate as Neuschwanstein of never being finished.

My thoughts exactly!  If that history is accurate, it feels like history is repeating. 

Just now, MJLO said:

I agree that it's cheesy if not almost gimicky.  To the point of x99, I think he's just happy to see a developer actually put some thought into design regardless of schtick.

Totally understand that and I completely agree, I just hate this style.  

[GRDadof3]

9 hours ago, MJLO said:

I agree that it's cheesy if not almost gimicky.  To the point of x99, I think he's just happy to see a developer actually put some thought into design regardless of schtick.  The end product may not be as tacky as some of us are assuming.  It'll be memorable in any case.  Way more aesthetic than the NW Indiana gateway into Chicago land IMHO  

It certainly has the air of permanence, with all that concrete exterior. I assume it will be painted? I can't imagine putting EFS on the outside of concrete walls? 

I agree, it hope it doesn't end up like that tower in Pyongyang that stayed unfinished for how many years? It's done now.

 

Looking at the above drawings, there's still a lot to be added to this thing. 

[ChevalierNoir]

The blue roof is expanding quickly on the tall portion, and the steel frame for the roof is being erected along the shorter portions I can see from 196.

[scottythe1nonly]

On 4/14/2017 at 10:45 PM, MJLO said:

I agree that it's cheesy if not almost gimicky.  To the point of x99, I think he's just happy to see a developer actually put some thought into design regardless of schtick.  The end product may not be as tacky as some of us are assuming.  It'll be memorable in any case.  Way more aesthetic than the NW Indiana gateway into Chicago land IMHO  

There is absolutely no excuse for bad design.  All the "thought" in the world means nothing if the end product is garbage.  

[WMrapids]

On 4/17/2017 at 1:35 PM, ChevalierNoir said:

The blue roof is expanding quickly on the tall portion, and the steel frame for the roof is being erected along the shorter portions I can see from 196.

[jthrasher]

2 hours ago, WMrapids said:

So hideous.

[WMrapids]

On 3/16/2017 at 3:30 PM, walker said:

So I went back today and took a shot of the motel.  The things that they stuck on the walls that look vaguely like turrets are even less impressive than they looked when I briefly saw them while driving by in traffic yesterday:

    

Not that it improves things but there is a third turret appendage out of the photo in the back. 

Those actually were the framing for it or something. They put a covering over them that is round and pretty detailed, something like a mini-golf-esque turret thing. Better than what is pictured above, but couldn't really judge more of it than from the quick glance that I had.

[WMrapids]

Here are some better quality images.

 

Edited May 14, 2017 by WMrapids

[TheSutterKing]

I hope Grandville gets a White Castle now

[Brown Angel]

There are 3 vertical rows of red concrete on each side of the gap in the center. They will start filling in the gap to complete the entrance once they no longer need the cranes and other heavy equipment in the courtyard. My guess is the developer decided to add additional rows to each side of the entrance proposed in the original plans to make it more like the gatehouse of Neuschwanstein Castle. I don't know for sure, but from his interviews with the media-the developer is a Neuschwanstein fanatic. With that being said, it wouldn't surprise me if he made changes to the architects plans. Ludwig II did the same thing right? I don't know, I've been watching this project closely and think it is pretty cool. 

[scottythe1nonly]

This project would make a lot more sense if it was next to a highway in Florida

[Allison Slater]

11 hours ago, Brown Angel said:

Ludwig II did the same thing right?

He did indeed.

[andrew.w]

What is up with the random red stripe on the hotel? The rest of the building is playing on the cheesy theme, and then there is that trendy bent stripe on the corner that would be more befitting of a Hyatt Place or Aloft. But I guess once you start adding miniature turrets on something, it would be asking too much for things to make sense.

[wingbert]

I smile and shake my head at the sheer audacity of this project... with this design... in this location.  However, despite hoping like hell that this thing is a long-term success I cannot escape the sense that this will be one of those things for which the term "White Elephant' was invented.

[Brown Angel]

On 5/16/2017 at 11:29 AM, andrew.w said:

What is up with the random red stripe on the hotel? The rest of the building is playing on the cheesy theme, and then there is that trendy bent stripe on the corner that would be more befitting of a Hyatt Place or Aloft. But I guess once you start adding miniature turrets on something, it would be asking too much for things to make sense.

 

I think the owner of the old hotel that was there (Days Inn) rebranded it into a Best Western after they had a fire. It is not the same owner/developer as the Grand Castle and I think he was maybe trying to make it match the Grand Castle. I am not sure the design is going to "match" as well as originally thought, but at least the owner of the Best Western tried. I am sure some improvements to that hotel are better than it being left in the state that it was in. 

[Raildude's dad]

l developer / owner was the Land family. It was the Lands Inn. Looks like they sold it  a number of years ago to Pranam Inc - Suresh Patel.