Jump to content

Grandville Castle Apartments


mgreven

Recommended Posts

10 minutes ago, arcturus said:

If you would of told me last year that one of the tallest buildings under construction would happen in Grandville I would of said you're nuts.

It is quite ironic to say the least. Who would have thought Grandville would get a 15 story apartment tower while the BOB one couldn't even stick to its original height and downgraded to 12 stories?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites


54 minutes ago, GRLaker said:

It is quite ironic to say the least. Who would have thought Grandville would get a 15 story apartment tower while the BOB one couldn't even stick to its original height and downgraded to 12 stories?

Not to mention when I look at the more detailed renderings and models shown I actually really think it's a great project lol.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, GRLaker said:

It is quite ironic to say the least. Who would have thought Grandville would get a 15 story apartment tower while the BOB one couldn't even stick to its original height and downgraded to 12 stories?

And it's going up twice as fast as anything downtown! :rofl:

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, RegalTDP said:

Not to mention they're building what they originally planned for in their first released rendering.  When's the last time that happened downtown? :P

Downtown Gran Rapids has become the land of value engineered buildings. Kinda sad, because a lot of the newer projects would look so much better if they stuck with their initial iteration. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Prankster said:

Downtown Gran Rapids has become the land of value engineered buildings. Kinda sad, because a lot of the newer projects would look so much better if they stuck with their initial iteration. 

Land's a lot cheaper in Grandville. And the parking, my god the parking. :P seriously, figuring in a ramp space for every unit has to come off somewhere else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's ironic how when this was first proposed I was skeptical and thought it would be a scaled down joke of a joke.  The only thing I got right was that the developer behind this had the resources to pull it off.  I just went back and looked at the original post, the original plan was for 10 stories.  What they are building now is 15.  So that's another detail that separates this from the downtown projects....it actually gained height.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, x99 said:

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 siteplan, it looks to me like the entire ramp is included in the 4.45 acres for "Castle Apartment."  There are four hundred units in the Castle itself, and 722 parking spaces in the "castle walls".  So they have pulled off a density of 90 units per acre with 1.8 parking spaces per unit, with a courtyard in the middle.  Wow.  Note to whiny developers building half-baked garbage downtown or near down who claim they can't do something like this:  Y'all just been schooled.

More irony for this thread...It took someone associated with Land to make it happen. All of the money and might of the big name developers couldn't do what someone associated with a low income apartment company was able to do. Well done. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, GRLaker said:

More irony for this thread...It took someone associated with Land to make it happen. All of the money and might of the big name developers couldn't do what someone associated with a low income apartment company was able to do. Well done. 

Agreed.  Although Land has some pretty sizeable properties that are 2-3 decades old.  Several of their properties rent at or near the market rate too. They probably have a pretty solid equity/income position (not to mention they have their hands in other businesses) if they wanted to go "big time", they could play with the big boys with little effort I'd imagine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, MJLO said:

Agreed.  Although Land has some pretty sizeable properties that are 2-3 decades old.  Several of their properties rent at or near the market rate too. They probably have a pretty solid equity/income position (not to mention they have their hands in other businesses) if they wanted to go "big time", they could play with the big boys with little effort I'd imagine.

When I think Land, I think York Creek and the like. So to see a $900+ apartment building being built by them and having it be all concrete...It's mind boggling to say the least. To their credit though...They do provide garages at all of their apartments in a city that mostly only supplies carports if you're lucky. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, GR_Urbanist said:

It's corny, looks like a tacky theme hotel in S. Florida or Las Vegas, and likely will become a retirement village by default more than anything else.

 

But it actually grows on you the more you look at it. It would be interesting to see what it looks like from the highway on a misty sunny morning

I admit that I also think it's corny and looks tacky. It will appeal to a select group of people and they will love it. The question becomes: how many people make up that select group? Based on the sheer size of it, I'd say they're gambling on that group being large in number. I hope they're right, because I'd hate to have it sit half empty and just deteriorate in the near future. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, GRLaker said:

I admit that I also think it's corny and looks tacky. It will appeal to a select group of people and they will love it. The question becomes: how many people make up that select group? Based on the sheer size of it, I'd say they're gambling on that group being large in number. I hope they're right, because I'd hate to have it sit half empty and just deteriorate in the near future. 

I don't think it would sit empty.  I can't imagine they wouldn't adjust their pricing structure to accommodate market trends if they needed.

There is a strong demand for units in the suburbs, as the core has been absorbing the lions share of construction.  This development despite being surrounded by a somewhat industrial feel to the east is very conveniently positioned with easy access to downtown, and only a short commute to Holland for those of us who commute to the Lakeshore(there are more than people realize).  If population trends stay the same or increase I doubt they will have trouble filling it up. 

Keep in mind that the average surburban apartment community is 500-700 units(this is 400).  York Creek and Ramblewood (before it split) are both over 1800 units.  I don't think anyone would question viability if these units weren't stacked on top of each other.   It's hard to think of it in those terms because it violates the traditional thinking of what a suburban development looks like in GR.  This will have modern finishes and other attractive features that will give it an edge against the other communities which are older in the area.  My guess is it's going to put a dent in Waterchase and Ramblewood, they are both overpriced and "under-amenitied" for what they offer. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, MJLO said:

I don't think it would sit empty.  I can't imagine they wouldn't adjust their pricing structure to accommodate market trends if they needed.

There is a strong demand for units in the suburbs, as the core has been absorbing the lions share of construction.  This development despite being surrounded by a somewhat industrial feel to the east is very conveniently positioned with easy access to downtown, and only a short commute to Holland for those of us who commute to the Lakeshore(there are more than people realize).  If population trends stay the same or increase I doubt they will have trouble filling it up. 

Keep in mind that the average surburban apartment community is 500-700 units.  York Creek and Ramblewood (before it split) are both over 1800 units.  I don't think anyone would question viability if these units weren't stacked on top of each other.   It's hard to think of it in those terms because it violates the traditional thinking of what a suburban development looks like in GR.  This will have modern finishes and other attractive features that will give it an edge against the other communities which are older in the area.  My guess is it's going to put a dent in Waterchase and Ramblewood, they are both overpriced and "under-amenitied" for what they offer. 

Agreed 100%. The bolded has been something that has boggled my mind for a while. Granted, Ramblewood has been purchased by a new company and has started making improvements...However, it is not worth anywhere near what they're charging. Only the upper rate units even have in-unit W/D. IMO, you're charging too much if you're above $700/month for a one bedroom and you don't have a W/D in the unit. Hopefully the addition of this place in the suburbs starts to drive the price down in the suburban apartments, as there has been a significant rise in rent area-wide without much gain in income to match it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, MJLO said:

My guess is it's going to put a dent in Waterchase and Ramblewood, they are both overpriced and "under-amenitied" for what they offer. 

Yes, and it just might pull some from <gasp!> downtown which are even more overpriced compared to the other two, especially factoring parking into the equation.

Is the developer asking for any tax relief?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, GRLaker said:

I admit that I also think it's corny and looks tacky. It will appeal to a select group of people and they will love it. The question becomes: how many people make up that select group? Based on the sheer size of it, I'd say they're gambling on that group being large in number. I hope they're right, because I'd hate to have it sit half empty and just deteriorate in the near future. 

There's a LOT of geeks who would absolutely love to live in a "castle," myself included (although I'm too urbanite for Grandville myself.)

And I think the unique forestation and grounds available at Ramblewood can be quite the amenity to convince many despite the lack of other amenities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, GRLaker said:

I admit that I also think it's corny and looks tacky. It will appeal to a select group of people and they will love it. The question becomes: how many people make up that select group? Based on the sheer size of it, I'd say they're gambling on that group being large in number. I hope they're right, because I'd hate to have it sit half empty and just deteriorate in the near future. 

Never fear, if they can't fill it, they'll just go the Section 8 route like they always do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, tSlater said:

There's a LOT of geeks who would absolutely love to live in a "castle," myself included (although I'm too urbanite for Grandville myself.)

And I think the unique forestation and grounds available at Ramblewood can be quite the amenity to convince many despite the lack of other amenities.

Ramblewoods wooded setting is about the ONLY plus in its column.  Their apartments haven't been updated in decades, while they are charging top tier market prices.  On top of that Ramblewood charges a monthly "ultilities" fee that is not included in the quoted rent so their apartments are $100-$200 more per month than they are even advertised.  I had thought this would have changed under their new ownership but it has not.  I consider it to be a significantly shady business practice.  Land and Co may have their negative marks but they have never been shady like that in their leasing practices.  Perhaps this could even force Ramblewood/Woodlake management to clean up their acts. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The metro area is adding and has been adding 16,000 jobs per year for the last 6 or 7 years now. Or if you want to get particular, for the last couple of years since Grand Rapids basically reached "full employment." Each added "employed payroll" person usually has a household of people that aren't even counted by the BLS because they're kids, retired or are stay at home parents. So 30,000 people a year being added to the area. 

Pshhh, this thing will rent. 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.