Another redeveloped building is underway at the Village Solars property along the 1000 Block of Warren Road in Lansing. The original 8-unit, 8-bedroom 116 Village Circle is no longer of this world; the early 1970s structure was torn down to make way for a new three-story building with 6 2-bedroom units and 12 microunits (400-600 SF). Along with the framed and sheathed 102 Village Place, that means that Lifestyle Properties does in fact have two buildings underway at the site; perhaps the last visit in September just happened to catch the project during a brief lull.
102 Village Place has been fully framed, sheathed, roofed, windows and doors have been fitted, and the fiber cement siding is just beginning to be installed (possibly by T&J Contractors of Auburn; most construction work by Lifestyle Property/the Lucente family is handled by an in-house crew). On the inside, expect electrical, plumbing, and HVAC to be underway; with no open doors or windows, it was not clear if they’re hanging drywall yet. In comparison to the “older” new apartment buildings, these new ones have different fenestration and even have stone veneer at the bases, though the overall building designs are generally similar. It’s not completely certain what the purpose of all the eaves (eavelets?) are on the walls of 102, though given the utility lines, it may have something to do with weather/ice protection for the air source heat pumps, which are shielded by small eaves and wood lattice on the latest completed apartment buildings.
The replacement structure for 116 Village Circle is just starting the framework for the second floor. As previously noted, it’s not uncommon to just housewrap over the rough openings, and cut out the holes later. The excess will be trimmed off and the edges will be fastened back to the inside wall, allowing for a tight and complete wrapping of the rough opening. Taking a guess, 102 will probably be done by the end of March, and 116 the end of June perhaps.
Side note, I’ve never noticed the Village Solars construction crew put a flag up on topped-out structures before.
Ithacating in Cornell Heights 
I like the variety of colors and textures on the finished products here. Most suburban apartment tracts like this seem to be bland white (or beige) boxes, which also makes them look old and run-down pretty quickly. Even if it’s not visible from the road, I’m sure the residents will appreciate the care put into the facade.
[…] 102 VP was already framed, roofed and fitted by the November visit, so chances are, they’ve already done utilities rough-ins and insulation, and they’ve moved on to drywall, baseboards and interior trim boards, priming and painting, and maybe some plumbing fixture and cabinetry installs. The three-story apartment building, which replaces a ten-unit 1970s structure, will have 24 units – 12 studios, three 1-bedroom, six 2-bedroom, and three 3-bedroom. If one wants to look at this from a population perspective, each of the ten units was a 1-bedroom, so the back of the envelope says there will be a net gain of 26 residents (one per bedroom, 36 – 10). And presumably, a couple million dollars in assessed value. […]