By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Two student-housing venues in downtown Grand Rapids have added 196 'beds' to the urban living options of college students. The new Hopson Flats at 212-216 Grandville offers 148 beds, and the three-year-old 5 Lyon expanded from 96 beds to 144 by adding two floors.
The 'beds' are actually bedrooms in two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments. Students sign individual leases for their own lockable bedrooms, and share the rest of the apartment with their roomies. Amenities include full kitchens, laundry facilities, bike storage, high speed Internet access, and cable television.
Kelley Mattice, property manager for Grubb & Ellis Paramount Commerce (GEPC), says she and her team are busy. Students are moving into the brand new Hopson Flats, which opened August 1. At 5 Lyon, new students began moving in on August 15.
"We have to get the units cleaned and repainted, clean the carpeting, and do furniture replacement and repair, and it has to all be done in a two-week time span," Mattice says. "Student housing is a growing industry in Grand Rapids with the increased enrollment in the universities and the addition of the MSU college of medicine. [Leasing beds] is definitely the new thing to do, and it's a growing product nationally."
GEPC's student housing management services will oversee the maintenance and leasing of 300 beds this year, up from 96 last year.
"What's unique about student living management is that this generation of students has a high expectation of what's available," Mattice says. "They expect a quality product delivered to them."
Source: Kelley Mattice, Grubb & Ellis Paramount Commerce; Mary Ann Sabo, Sabo Public Relations
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Photo of Hopson Flats model unit by Brian Kelly
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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