Long-planned ilume Park is poised to open
If you’ve driven by ilume Park recently — the sister development to Cedar Springs’ popular ilume mixed-use complex — you’ve probably noticed the lime-green insulated panels and gravel driveways and exposed rebar and chain-link fences and thought, “When will it finally open?”
Below, how the common room looks today at ilume Park; top, a rendering of how it should look by the end of the month.
Well, sooner than you think.
This time last year, a Dec. 1 completion date was projected, and things are going ahead of schedule. Rick Williamson, who’s overseeing the project for the Crosland Group, predicts Oct. 30 will be the finish date for Phase 1. (There will be five phases in toto, the final ones set to open by April 15.) And it promises to be spectacular.
You might not be able to tell that from a walk-thru, where drywall is still lining the halls and workers astride stilts are spackling the high ceilings. But Williamson can see what others can’t. (It helps that he has professional renderings to assist.)
Its 240 units average 940 square feet (from a small of 577 to a large of 1,423 s.f.), more than those at the ilume, and the vibe will be different. Within its four stories will be a huge fitness center ($140,000 of equipment is scheduled to arrive this week) with tanning bed and massage room; a huge common area with a full bar; a grand piano; a poker room; and multiple courtyards. By the time the remaining phases open, there will be a pool not only for the human residents but for their four-legged family members, as well a huge hot tub. (Rent ranges from $1,069 to $2,699.)
The pool at ilume Park probably won’t be the social hub ilume’s area is. Williamson predicts more couples and fewer singles and roommates in the dog-focused facility, and has already fielded interest from some ilume residents interested in moving over (move-ins will probably start in early December). But it doesn’t matter too much: whichever building you live in, you get access to the amenities at both.
Who said a dog’s life is hard?
— Arnold Wayne Jones
This article appeared in Defining Homes Magazine, October 4, 2013.
