March 2023: ION Arts Progress
Hello! We apologize for the gap in communication, but we MAY have new updates to share as we MARCH forward. Don’t be an APRIL fool and read below for Ion Arts updates!
Back in March we closed on our construction financing with LISC. It was a long and stressful journey, but we are excited and thankful for our partnership with them. This catalyzed the construction process as we have been moving full steam to get Ion Arts moving.
On the construction side of things, here’s what’s been going on:
We are seeing the spaces that make up the Ion Arts finally take shape! Framing is almost completed and we are excited to see the residential units and the ground floor creative studios take form.
HVAC rough-ins are about completed and most of the HVAC heads have been installed. Last update we shared some info on the VRF system we are using, but if you missed that, check out this video. Raymond Deblois of Vital Heating and Air has been leading this charge and has been great to work with to figure out the best system to use for this project.
Electrical well underway. Our electrician, Long Nguyen of LN Georgia Electric, has begun to run conduit and install outlet and panel boxes.
Plumbing rough-ins are also well underway by our plumber, Antony Anderson of PM Maintenance Services. Trenching and installation of plumbing hook-ups are almost done on the ground floor, and plumbing hook-ups for the residential floors are being installed as we type this.
As with all our rough-in work, because this is an existing building, we are constantly having to problem solve as we discover new constraints. Amy Koed, our contractor and owner of KOED Construction has been working with all of our subs and being extremely nimble on thinking on their feet. As an example, the concrete walls and floors in particular have been challenging to work with at times since it is often difficult to cut through or retrofit, but Amy has been great at working with subs to figure out the best path forward (literally when it comes to running paths for utilities!)
Dayle Bennett, owner and chief creative officer of No 4 Design Studio, has been heading up design decision making to curate and specify finishes and products for the Ion Arts. Over the last couple months, Dayle and Good Places have been double and triple checking design specifications to make sure we are providing affordable, high quality and well-designed products for our residential units.
Dayle and the eightvillage team have been working with Ruby Lee of Celadon Assets to finalize our millwork designs and production. We are finishing our final round of shop drawings for the residential millwork packages, and Ruby will be traveling next week to meet with the millwork fabricators to initiate the purchase order. We are trying to get this done as early in the process as possible in order to account for potential supply chain issues that come along with millwork these days. Ruby has been very helpful in working with us on kitchen cabinet designs to achieve a high standard of design, efficiency in production time and affordability.
Finally, we have reserved 13 of the 16 units we have available. We are excited that our reservations and inquiries have primarily been small businesses, creatives and locals from the College Park community who are excited about shaping the Ion Arts community.
We would like to continue to have this project be exposed to creatives, and so far our word of mouth efforts has been great to drive this in the right direction! If you know any other creatives, someone that would be interested and could benefit by buying a unit at Ion Arts, and/or someone who is looking to purchase a home for the first time, please put them in touch with our engagement team by emailing Rem Hellmann at rem@goodplaces.properties or Jessica Bush at jessicabush@kw.com.
Summer updates coming up soon! Things will be heating up 🔥🔥🔥
- The ION Arts Team
