GRANDVILLE, Mich-Developer Roger Lucas of Land and Company builds and manages apartment complexes in west Michigan. If the Grandville City Commission gives him the okay, he will soon build a 14 story apartment complex that looks like a German castle. "We’re apartment builders, we’ve been building apartments for thirty years. We started in Grandville and thought it was time to build in Grandville again," Lucas told Fox 17 news Monday. Lucas added, "The castle lends itself to timeless beauty. What were after here is timeless beauty and the reality is with tall buildings you only have so many choices of what you can do and I always thought a castle would make a great apartment building."
Lucas has travelled to Europe several times over the years and says he long ago fell in love with the architecture. "I wanted to build an apartment complex which was similar to Neuschwanstein, which is a castle in southern Germany,” said Lucas. He's designed a complex that would include 500 units and nearly 600 indoor parking spaces. The complex would be surrounded by a lake on three sides and have a view of I-196 and the Grand River to the west. The Grandville City Commission is voting Monday night on whether to allow re-zoning of the land that once housed 250 mobile homes up until a decade ago. According to City Manager Ken Krombeen, the idea has received favorable reviews from the city council and residents and he's optimistic this project can lead to more growth. "I think there's hope that by seeing redevelopment of that site, especially residential redevelopment, that might kick start other development in that area and that would be a good thing."
