This definitely isn't a great looking building but I just keep reminding myself of how many market rate units are being added to the neighborhood. It looks like the building proposed for the Lake Trust site a couple blocks away will be at least a small step in the right direction design and quality wise.
I was pleasantly surprised when I drove past this building yesterday. It is starting to look pretty good! It is true that the stone siding is only on the first floor, but the siding above looks alright, now that it is nearing the finish I am happy with the look of the building. It is going to bring a lot of people to live downtown. I noticed several big old houses in that neighborhood are also being renovated in the Hillsdale and Pine Street area. That is a good sign, for a neglected area.
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.
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!
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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.