Studio One Apartments will open its leasing office on November 15 after a 3 p.m. press conference that will announce confirmed ground-floor retail tenants.
Studio One is indeed first in a couple of categories: It is the first development that Wayne State University has undertaken as a public/private partnership and it is the first market-rate new construction rental apartments built in Detroit in 30 years.
WSU's partner, Grand Rapids-based
Prime Development, came on board after a market study revealed a demand for such a product. The target audience is graduate, law and medical students, WSU and College for Creative Studies faculty, Detroit Medical Center physicians and empty-nesters. "It's not really geared for students, it's geared for a more mature audience," says spokesperson Peter van Dyke. "It feels like one of the newer condos downtown."
Apartments range in size from 650 to 1,008 square feet and in price from $870 to $1,395 per month. Five of the six
layouts include one balcony -- one of the two-bedroom plans features two. Up to two parking spaces in the attached structure can be reserved per unit for an additional $65 each per month.
Studio One is part of the $36 million South University Village development that also includes the $14 million WSU-developed parking structure. Ground floor retail spaces in both buildings will be delivered to tenants in April of 2008, with retailers then given 60 to 90 days to open. Move-in for residential tenants is expected to occur in June.
The leasing center, located at the southeast corner of Cass and Canfield, will be open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment on Saturday and Sunday. Leasing manager Billie Mason-Smith can be reached at 313-316-0824 or at
billieasmith@yahoo.com.
Anyone who signs a lease on November 15 will have their $50 application fee waived. Also, any affiliate of WSU will receive a 13 month lease for the price of 12.
Source: Peter van Dyke,
Berg Muirhead and AssociatesWriter: Kelli B. Kavanaugh