The Evolve apartment project on the corner of Glenn Avenue and Wright Street is reaching the final stages of construction and is scheduled to be ready in time for fall 2017.
CA Student Living, an asset of Chicago-based development company CA Ventures, is leading the $32 million construction of the six-story apartment building.
“Evolve will be home to 456 residents and is already 96 percent preleased for next Fall,” said CA Student Living President JJ Smith.
When asked what separated Evolve from other student apartments in the Auburn area, Smith said, “Evolve’s proximity to campus, Toomer’s Corner and College Street is certainly a main draw, but the uniqueness will be experienced in a quality of design, attention to detail, amenity package and attentive management onsite.”
However, at 75 feet in height, the downtown apartment building has raised concerns within the Auburn community about the city’s growth toward the sky.
Auburn City Councilwoman Lynda Tremaine said she is against the height allowance that the ordinance has passed.
“I just think that anything 75 feet is entirely out of scale and too large for our small downtown area,” she said. “I’m all for Auburn growing, but we just need to do it responsibly. When you go downtown around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, you can see what we’re getting with the traffic, and it’s just going to get worse.”
Smith said he could empathize with the concerns of those who are afraid of downtown development, but said that CA Student Living’s goal is to “draw students as close to campus as possible which helps avoid sprawl into neighborhoods, reduces traffic congestion from student living in locations outside of town that would drive into campus and brings an economic vibrancy to downtown retail, shops and restaurants by providing a consumer base that is around 24/7.”
As Evolve’s construction finishes, another 75-foot construction project will begin on the corner of Glenn Avenue and College Street, across the street from Evolve.
191 College Street is a construction project developed by ACC OP (College Street) LLC, a company based in Austin, Texas. The seven-story apartment and retail building will have a capacity of 465 beds and will replace the University Chevron gas station.
While 191 College Street is under construction, part of Wright Street and its adjacent sidewalk will close to allow the delivery of construction materials. The project will also require narrowing Glenn Avenue from 11 feet to 10 feet.
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