What do you think about the apartment complex being pitched for Brighton’s Mill Pond?

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Drawings/photos courtesy DTN Development

Editor’s note: The Vista of Brighton project received unanimous approval from the Brighton City Council at its meeting on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018.


Vista of Brighton — a $35 million, high-end development of 199 apartments snuggled up against the Mill Pond — is like nothing we’ve seen before in Livingston County. And the project — which appears to be on the fast track to approval — will have a tremendous, transformative impact on Brighton.

I am a huge fan of the work Brighton has done over the years — and continues to do — to fashion a quirky, cool downtown. The city wasn’t blessed with the abundance of amazing historic architecture in its downtown like in Howell, but it’s fashioned a vibrant, popular area with a style all its own.

The center of the downtown Brighton universe is the Mill Pond, and I love that so much of the area’s activity is centered around it. Adding this project to the Mill Pond’s shore will forever change the dynamics of the area; this project — four stories tall, with a three-story parking deck — is huge, especially in context of the surrounding area. The project is being pitched for four acres in the 700 block of Second Street that run east and south to the Mill Pond. It’s the area inside the red lines below:

It’s a luxury, uber-modern complex — in a style its developer, Lansing-based DTN Development Group, has reportedly dubbed “s-urban” for urban-suburban — and it features high-end finishes, and lots of windows. In addition to a three-story parking deck, the development will reportedly include a fitness center; a club room with television sets; and a courtyard area with outdoor kitchen and grill areas. All those amenities don’t come cheap: A 600-square foot, one-bedroom apartment will go for about $1,200 a month, while a 1,350-square-foot, three-bedroom unit will rent for about $2,300 a month, which means renters will likely be higher-income.

Here are some drawings of other DTN Development projects:

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Here are videos of two other projects by DTN Development, one in Lansing and one in Grand Rapids.

Brighton officials seem excited about the project. And I am sure Brighton merchants will be thrilled with a huge influx of shoppers and diners with money just a stroll away.

What do you think about this project? Do you like these new upper east side luxury apartments? I think they are amazing!


 

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Maria Stuart worked at The Livingston County Press/ Livingston County Daily Press & Argus as a reporter, editor and managing editor. These days, she runs The Livingston Post.

7 Comments

  1. A disgrace. The city council of Brighton use to preserve the integrity of the town, but with concepts like this turning into a reality — it is an absolute shame! I love Brighton for the small town feel — not to feel like a Sardine and as if I’m in Novi, which it is on track to becoming here very shortly.

    Also, apartments are an absolute disaster — higher income or not! Individuals who rent, are likely those who do not intend to settle their roots and contributing to the city, which poses many problems to again, the integrity. Brighton has already grown tremendously over the past 5 years, and frankly, growing too rapidly for it’s own good! Let’s scale it back a bit or the Brighton everyone currently knows and once knew, will no longer be the same town!

    VOTE NO!

  2. The size and density of this un necessary project is completely out of character for what’s left of Brighton’s small town appeal…..who thinks of stuff like this? And why would any town council, no matter how inept, would even consider it?

  3. A total disaster for Brighton…think about adding approximately 400 more cars to our already inadequate roads. A trip on Grand River heading to 96 now takes about 15 minutes to traverse a half mile. It is sad when city planners succumb to the carrot of more money for retailers and restaurants to the total disregard of the current residents of Brighton. The small town appeal of Brighton, the reason people live here, will be lost.

  4. I moved here for the small town atmosphere. That has been slowly eroding over the last 10 years. It now takes me as much as 10 minutes to get out of my driveway on Main Street because of excess traffic and no traffic light to regulate traffic flow. This new complex will add to the traffic. Time for me to move.

  5. I think a development like this is exciting. It will fill a housing void and attract Millennial; and helps builds our tax base. We are moving toward a more diverse city that includes more entertainment, shopping and eateries. Can’t wait to see how this unfolds.

    • I am a native of Brighton and this is way over the top…losing our little town atmosphere..we are not Birmingham , dont make it into a big town..already downtown is a joke.

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