Apartment complex breaks ground

When Metropolitan Apartments in Lakeview opens, it will be the completion of a project John Gilbert has been looking forward to for more than 30 years. 

“I’ve always been intrigued about doing something in Birmingham since my wife is from Mountain Brook,” said Gilbert, president and chief operating officer for Bomasada, the Houston-based real estate company developing the project. “We’ve found this great site in Lakeview, and we’re very excited. It’s just an unbelievable part of town … We’re really happy to be a part of the community.”

Work is being done on the parking garage, which will contain more than 400 spots. The foundation is being poured, and utilities have been completed for the $40 million housing community.

The 262 units will consist of one- to three-bedroom units. The average size of each apartment will be 890 square feet, and each will have amenities such as stainless-steel appliances and high-end fixtures. Rent will be in the $1,000 to $3,000 range.

Residents of the four-story buildings will be able to enjoy luxuries such as shuffleboard, billiards, a fitness center, yoga room, resort-style pool, a dog park, fire pits and grills.

“The Lakeview area has been really more about the restaurants and bars,” Gilbert said. “This would be really the first high-end, residential component to this part of town.”

He predicts the complex will attract young professionals and millennials, as well as empty-nesters who are looking to downsize but are not ready to move to a retirement community.

The first units are expected to open in the summer of 2017, and the entire project should be completed in the fall of 2017.