Construction to resume on NW 17th St. apartments - News - Gainesville Sun

The plan is to have at least half of the apartment building completed by August 2018 and the entire project completed by January 2019.

By Daniel Smithson Staff writer

The outer shell of what will be student housing and a retail destination in midtown remains with few workers trying to complete it.

Coral Gables-based Roger Development Group executives halted construction at the site of what will be Midtown Apartments, located at 104 NW 17th St., because of plans to make interior changes.

Oscar Roger Jr., vice president of the development group, said in construction when interior design changes occur, plumbing does as well.

So while design changes were being ironed out, construction was slowed to avoid the costs of having people work in the meantime and potentially having to reroute plumbing again if more changes were made.

But with those details now set, construction will resume within the next few weeks, Roger said.

The plan is to have at least half of the apartment building completed by August 2018 and the entire project completed by January 2019, he said.

An article published by The Sun in September 2016 said the parking lot and a few apartments should have been finished by the 2017 fall semester. Those goals have not yet been reached. Back then, the goal was to have the entire complex completed by fall 2018, which Roger said is still possible.

Midtown Apartments will essentially be one large building split into three parts, Roger said. The two outer wings of the six-story building will house 310 apartments. The middle section of the building will be a ventilated parking garage.

As for now, the Southside wing will be ready for students in fall 2018, with leases scheduled to start being signed in September, Roger said.

Although no leases have been signed, there has been interest shown via email from prospective tenants, Roger said. Those prospective tenants were put on a “VIP list” and will be the first to know when leases are made available to sign.

An email sent to the address listed on the “Let’s Talk” tab of the Midtown Apartments website, which appears to be its leasing office email address, sent back an error message that said the email address could not be found.

A call to the phone number listed on its website was picked up by an answering machine, which stated, “The Google subscriber you have called is not available,” and then one that stated, “All circuits are busy.”

Roger said he was unaware of the issue and is planning on fixing it as soon as possible.

Midtown Apartments will double as a living space and a retail center, as it will house more than 15,000 square feet of retail space on its bottom floor. Although he would not go into specifics, Roger said the space is drawing heavy interest from “a retailer big in college towns,” burger and pizza restaurants, and sports bars.

“We really want a solid mix of things,” Roger said. “It’s nicer to have a variety of places.”

The location is prime for retail and restaurants, Roger said, with it being so close to the University of Florida campus and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. He said it also ties into a trend to move consumer traffic from West University Avenue and toward Northwest First Avenue.

As for now, none of the retailers have been set in stone, but they should appeal to college students, Roger said. The apartment’s aesthetic should too, he said.

Oftentimes in student housing, developers aggressively try to appeal to a younger crowd, Roger said, but it can come off as “cheesy” to young adults who want to be treated as such.

He said Midtown Apartments will have an “urban but clean style,” comparable to a New York loft.

Roger said the cabinets in the apartments will be two-toned, with the upper part being lacquer and the bottom being wood. He said the apartments will have unique furnishings — the walls will feature color waves and the ceilings will be dropped.

“It’s a different aesthetic than what would typically be found in student housing,” he said.

Roger said Midtown Apartments will be luxury apartments, so rent won’t be at the bottom end of the rent-pricing spectrum but it won’t be at the very top either.

With the construction already being delayed once, the company is focused on time, Roger said, and he understands that it’s important to get the apartments done in time for students to move in next August.

He said if somehow the apartments weren’t ready in time, hotel rooms would be provided for tenants until it was ready.

“We will try all costs to have that situation be avoided,” he said. “No one wants that to happen.”