By: Deborah Johnson Wood
College students in search of housing in the heart of Grand Rapids this fall can count on having at least 19 new ‘beds’ to choose from at 5 Lyon. Rockford Construction has 17 studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments under construction in the nine-story building.
Over the past four years, Rockford has renovated floors four through nine into larger apartments. Each student leases his or her private bedroom and shares the kitchen, living room and bathroom with roommates. The new apartments are under construction on floors two and three, bringing the total number of beds in the building to 163.
“We’ve had a lot of demand for the studios, which are not available on the upper floors,” says Kurt Hassberger, Rockford COO. “We’re working with a restaurant for the garden level space at Ionia and Lyon, but can’t disclose the name until the contracts are signed. Having food service in the building will be a big plus.”
Kelley Mattice of Grubb & Ellis Paramount Commerce is the property manager for the apartments.
“We did a survey of the students to see what they wanted in the gathering space,” she says. “They want to be able to visit with each other and study together. Just have a place where they can hang out and get to know others in the building.”
Mattice expects the gathering space will have games, possibly foos ball or ping-pong, cable Internet and cable television.
Source: Kurt Hassberger, Rockford Construction; Kelley Mattice, Grubb & Ellis Paramount Commerce
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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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