At the Northeast corner of the Campus View community sits an empty retail building, the old Brian’s Books location. It is a cavernous, 9,250 square foot building that is not ideal for a retail store or restaurant venture due to the ebb and flow of a college town. Campus View was searching for a way to transform the space into residential housing. They asked r.o.i. Design to look at the building and come up with some ideas.
We landed on new housing approach that intertwines private rooms with community living. The space was ideal to handle a 24-unit complex with a central shared area, complete with a communal kitchen, a lounge with a fireplace and large TV, exercise room, and on-site laundry. Each of the units has a complete bathroom with tub/shower and a small kitchenette with a sink, refrigerator, and microwave. The units will be fully furnished with a full-size bed, desk, wardrobe, dressers, and a loveseat. There will even be loft storage above the bathroom in each unit. Campus View has named the property View Point and has already leased several of these suites to students who are interested in the shared space with privacy concept.
For the redesign of the building, r.o.i. Design wanted to it to feel like a cool, urban, loft-like space. We call it “hipster-eclectic”, encompasses everything that is quirky, creative and bang on trend. Hipsters have wholeheartedly embraced a minimalist aesthetic that effortlessly mismatches several different trends and styles.
The exterior will get new metal siding, giving it a modern industrial look. The interiors will feature an eclectic mix of surfaces, exposed ductwork and pipes, and industrial light fixtures. Large factory-type wall stencils will identify room numbers.
Construction on the building should take place this spring and hopefully be open for students to move in this fall. Campus View will begin leasing the space as soon as possible. It will be exciting to see this inventive new living space take shape and add to the unique housing offerings at GVSU.
