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Grandville Castle Apartments

mgreven

By mgreven
in Grand Rapids

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crinzema
crinzema
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So I did some of my own measurements on this because I wasn't sure whether they were including the parking ramp in the space devoted to parking or in the "Castle Apartments".  Using the scale on the s

ModSquad
ModSquad

I have to share a funny story about this development.  My mother lives in the Chicago area.  She is 76 and is legally blind from macular degeneration.  She sees pretty good far away,  just not so good

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andrew.w Hamlet

andrew.w

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It's certainly an interesting project to look at, but the developer seems to have been caught up more with form-making and the outward appearance from afar, and doesn't have much experience making spaces that are actually comfortable to live within.

I'd be particularly bothered by how small the windows are in all of the units. Each bedroom comes with what looks like one 30"x60" window and each dining room-living room-kitchen space get just 2 of those windows. Even on the corner units one of the bedrooms is put in the corner so the living areas still get less than 25 sf access to natural light.

I also hope the grounds are going to get more landscaping, because that courtyard looks more like a prison yard right now. The terrace units aren't going to be very appealing if they open out onto a massive concrete expanse. The one's on the outside of the building look like they open right onto the top of the parking deck. Even the most basic of suburban apartment complexes usually have a landscape buffer between the parking lot and the units.

Also, as someone pointed out a while back: how does one get into this building by foot? I see sidewalks surrounding the building the the flyover and a few pedestrian entrances into the sides of the parking deck, but where one would expect the main building entrance is in that sea of asphalt roundabout between the parking entrances. If that is the main entrance it seems like it would be perilous to try to walk there.

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ZAP! Unincorporated Area

ZAP!

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1 hour ago, andrew.w said:

Also, as someone pointed out a while back: how does one get into this building by foot?

I think the answer for this question towards anything in this region of 28th St is: "You don't." There aren't even sidewalks from Byron Center to Wilson.

※ a few businesses have sidewalks in front of them that don't connect to anything, plus there's two blocks' worth on the south side past Wilson

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andrew.w Hamlet

andrew.w

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Oh I get that the surrounding area may not have any sidewalks, that's a separate issue, and another reason why you would never see me living in an area like that (I have to get in my car to walk my dog?). But it seems like at home, someone should be able to at least go outside without having to walk through the parking garage.  In the site plans for this project there are townhouses surrounding it on all sides built in later phases. So if any of those people have friends in the castle there is no nice way for them to walk over there?

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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2 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

I heard from a construction PM around town that the rumor is this thing is 10s of millions of dollars over budget  anyone else here this?

Anyone want to bet against me that this will be a casino in 5 years?

i still want it to succeed no matter what I think of the look, but dang...

Joe

I drove by during the evening the other day and probably half the apartment lights were on. I always say, never EVER underestimate the poor tastes of the American public.  :rofl: 

I don't think it could be a casino there'd have to be a large open area addition. Look at the Wayland casino it's just a big warehouse with no hotel tower or anything. 

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crinzema Whistle-Stop

crinzema

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On 10/19/2018 at 10:02 PM, walker said:

Here’s something I’ve been pondering for about a month now and can’t come up with an answer, Crinzema, how did get your drone to fly around inside the building?

Well, I did not take that video. But... I know exactly how its done because I own the equipment to do that exact thing. I am a Real Estate photographer and I own a camera called "Matterport Camera." The best way to describe the thing is that it's a box with 6 small cameras and 3 infrared cameras capturing photographic and distance information from the surrounding walls and furnishings. When you take multiple photos together, it stitches them together creating a  3D environment that you can walk around, like that shown in the video.  Here's an example of a luxury home that is being marketed with this technology: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=uoLJvSu7P3i&brand=0 My website is www.ContextImaging.com and I provide all sorts of real estate and commercial photography services. I'm currently working on implementing a Virtual Tour Method that would open up an entire building, such as  the size of the Castle Apartments, to a virtual walk through. Great for construction documentation/insurance/marketing/selling a building/facility management... 

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