Newsletter - Vol. 2 issue 1

Project Pipeline - Multi-Unit

MSU Students Who Need Their “Space” Will Find It at Campus Village Apartments

Residents at the new Campus Village Apartments in East Lansing have all the upscale student apartment amenities that “echo-boomers” demand, plus one that just might be the envy of many other Michigan State University students—a prized parking space! (As any “Sparty” who has ever jockeyed for a parking space in East Lansing and on the MSU campus can attest, it’s practically elevated to a sport.) That’s exactly why developer Campus Village Communities elevated its newest 3-story, 46-unit building at Campus Village Apartments and put a parking structure below—providing a parking space for every resident—a first for MSU students!  

Rohde Construction, Kentwood, MI, among the country’s top 50 largest multi-based general contractors, selected Contractors Mechanical to construct domestic water, sanitary piping, and gas piping systems for both phases of the project. Working with Russ Lapham, Project Manager, and Carl Sharp, Site Superintendent for Rohde Construction, Ken Bailey, Field Manager, oversaw Contractors Mechanical’s work on Phase 2. “It was a very fast track schedule on an extremely tight site, with some soil conditions to contend with, that created a delay,” says Bailey. “The Rohde Construction team did an extraordinary job keeping this project on schedule and ready in time for occupancy at the start of the fall semester.”

With the lifestyle comforts and conveniences college-bound echo-boomers have grown up with, expectations of students (not to mention their baby boomer parents) are much different today. Progressive developers like Campus Apartment Communities recognized the trends and have built student living spaces that offer comfortable living, recreational opportunities, and optimal study environments. At Campus Village Apartments, residents enjoy a game room, lounge, fitness room, computer center, and tanning booth. Each furnished apartment features a shared living room, kitchen, and laundry. When it comes to privacy, every resident has their own space, with individual bedrooms and bathrooms.

Gone are the days of four walls and a bunk of 30 years ago. When it come to needing their space, Residents at Campus Village Apartments have no trouble finding it—inside with their own living spaces, and outside with their own parking spaces.

Annual Snow Accumulation for Grand Haven, Michigan: None! Ever!

Now you can count Grand Haven among the temperate places where snow never accumulates. Yes, Grand Haven! Michigan! Or at least—a sliver of it. Contractors Mechanical designed and recently completed construction of an extensive snowmelt system that will keep surfaces throughout an entire 23-unit, village-like condominium community free of snow next winter. In addition to the sheer size and scope of the snowmelt system at the Cottages of Grand Haven, what makes this system unique is that it must also operate under the extreme weather conditions where frequent and large accumulations of “lake effect snow” are fairly routine.

Located on the waterfront in downtown Grand Haven on the former site of an office and warehouse facility, The Cottages of Grand Haven is situated on a tight urban site where parking is at an absolute premium. Space constraints required a snow removal alternative to plowing—one that keeps all walkways, sidewalks, as well as the entire surface of the driving and parking system free of snow to prevent the loss of any parking space to piled snow.

“This gets to be a fairly significant system when you consider all the driveway and parking surfaces are included, ” says Contractors Mechanical Vice President, Jerry Schauer. “We used foil insulation under the concrete to capture, retain, and direct heat from the sun back up to the pedestrian and parking surfaces. A natural gas, two-million BTU, two-boiler heating system pumps hot water through underground hydronic coils throughout the community. Standby electronic control technology monitors 18 zones with photostatic sensors that detect snow and accumulation conditions and automatically trigger operation of the system so that it only runs when it’s needed. It is a three-stage system that gauges the appropriate heating level for conditions detected.”

The heated pavement at the Cottages of Grand Haven never freezes and snowmelt water runoff is channeled into the stormwater runoff system. Besides the convenience of never needing snowplowing and shoveling, sand and salt aren’t needed or used either, so there’s also an environmental benefit.

In addition to the snowmelt system, the developer, onemarket properties, and contractor, Fryling Construction, selected Contractors Mechanical to design-build heating and cooling systems for project, comprised of a 10-unit, four-story condo building, four two-unit structures, five single-family site condominium homes, and clubhouse facilities. Integrating into and complimenting  the character of Grand Haven’s Harbor Drive neighborhood, the community captures an Eastern seaboard cottage feel but with something you can’t get anywhere on the East Coast—Michigan’s West Coast charm. And it’s in one of the best beach towns on the Great Lakes—even when the snow piles up. Or at least piles up next door!