Metro Place Apartments, a newly opened mixed-use development owned by Lawton Group first announced back in 2017, is officially open for business. Marketed primarily as upscale living for young professionals, it replaced the old YMCA building, which was in operation from 1951 to 2003 and was demolished to make way for Metro Place.
“We purchased this property in 2007, so Metro Place is the fruition of many years of planning, regrouping, long hours and hard work,” said Julie Lawton-Essa, head of Lawton Group. “I think the building looks beautiful and truly revitalizes this part of downtown Lansing.”
Metro Place is located right next to Reutter Park on Lenawee Street. It’s a quick jog away from the Capitol building, Lansing Community College and all the restaurants and bars downtown has to offer. While it already has tenants moved in, there’s still a lot of space for new applicants. There are 145 units and six different options which range from studio apartments, with the smallest at 436 square feet, dubbed “The Council,” to 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom configurations, of which the largest is 1353 square feet, known as “The President.” Rent ranges from $890 for the cheapest studio apartment to $2,000 for the most expensive 2-bedroom option.
Is $2,000 a new record rent in the area? Was anything in Stadium District ever this expensive?
That seems particularly expensive for the somewhat out of the way location and mediocre quality of the building, I'd like to see what that unit looks like. I continue to be disappointed in this project overall, it's an example of what I don't want to see more of.
I'm not sure about Stadium District but I know MW Lofts has some units well over $2k/month, I remember seeing some around $2700 when they posted the prices on their site. Of course those were like 2500 sq ft though, I also think the aesthetics and quality of MW Lofts is heads and shoulders above this building.
Empty apartments always look stark, but there are so few attractive details in the design other than large windows. If I were to spend 2K a month on my housing I am sure I could find something nicer than this maybe even with a bathtub! Whatever the market will bear is the motto for real estate so there must be someone out there who will find this place is where they want to live. It is right next to 496 and the Capitol Complex so the location is not that bad and I hope that it is successful and spurs more development on the south side of downtown. It is however one of those buildings that say, "good enough" not "wow that is really nice" good enough seems to be a standard around here. I am feeling a bit underwhelmed at the exterior treatments going up on the 600 Block as well.
@MichMatters It doesn't look bad, just somewhat bland and the materials are just decent, nothing to be excited about. I guess this is sort of the norm for new apartments in this area though, I was just looking at Elevation in Okemos and it's not much different on the interior although it does have much more interesting exterior architecture than Metro Place. They have two bedrooms starting at $1595/month and three bedrooms starting at $2529, I guess given the downtown location $2k isn't absolutely insane for 2 beds 2 baths.
To be clear, I'd personally not even consider paying those rents for the location for this quality of building, though I was surprised to find it had wood(-type?) floors. That said, this is like a cookie-cutter building you see going up by the dozens in every city across the Midwest. This kind of bland, almost pre-built 4-6 story building I've seen going up in Indy, Columbus, Des Moines, etc. So I don't find it particularly offensive, either. It's just kind of "there." Though, I'm adamant that this turned out better than the rendering, which is rare, and it's mostly because the rendering made it look like they were using vinyl siding for part of the facade.
I do like Metro Place, though I would not pay 2K to live there, I hope to see the building animated with people soon. I think the new Capitol View building is one building that shows they can build a project that is of higher quality in design and materials, along with the new Willow Street Apartments these buildings do have a bit of "Wow that looks nice" factor. I have my fingers crossed for the Red Cedar project!
Comments
Is $2,000 a new record rent in the area? Was anything in Stadium District ever this expensive?
I'm not sure about Stadium District but I know MW Lofts has some units well over $2k/month, I remember seeing some around $2700 when they posted the prices on their site. Of course those were like 2500 sq ft though, I also think the aesthetics and quality of MW Lofts is heads and shoulders above this building.