The next big thing: Micro apartments coming to Detroit New breed of apartments is smaller (and cheaper) than traditional studio and one-bedroom units.

JC Reindl , John Gallagher | Detroit Free Press

The trend of ultra-small apartments that is gaining popularity among young people in cities with high real estate costs will soon debut in Michigan.

Two developers have started work on so-called "micro apartment" projects — one in downtown Detroit and one in Kalamazoo — and several others are considering adding micros in future residential projects.

Micro apartments are small studio apartments, typically around 350 square feet, that still have full kitchens and bathrooms. They usually rent for 20% to 30% less than regular one-bedroom apartments. They often are found in new buildings featuring large communal spaces that can serve as group living rooms.

Micros typically rent to just one person, but also roommates or couples who are skilled at sharing space. A few people use them as a pied-à-terre for business or party purposes. Yet experts say their chief demographic is young, urban, cash-strapped millennials.

Detroit businessman Dan Gilbert is behind what would be the larger of the two micro apartment projects under way. His Bedrock Real Estate Services intends to break ground early next year on a 13-story building in downtown's Capitol Park district. It would have about 220 "micro lofts" measuring between 300 and 400 square feet.

For comparison, a 300-square-foot loft apartment would be slightly larger than a one-car garage.

The other project under way is at the edge of downtown Kalamazoo and being developed by a group of Kalamazoo-area businessmen known as NoMi Developers. Their $4.5-million Walbridge Common will convert a 1924 warehouse into 47 apartments and a ground-floor Irish pub. Sixteen of the apartments will be micros, measuring 320 square feet each and will likely rent for $500 a month, said Herb Ayres, managing member of NoMi.

"We're designing it so they get the biggest bang for their buck for that 320 square feet," Ayres said.

Two other Detroit projects may be coming soon, too.

In another, real estate investor Dennis Kefallinos is considering micro units for a project that would convert a former Wayne State University pharmacy school tower in Lafayette Park known as Shapero Hall into residences. But the project at 1010 Rivard St. is still in its early stages, said Eric Novak, a senior project manager for Kefallinos' Boydell Development.

In one, preliminary plans for the 235-unit Statler City Apartments — an entirely new building on Grand Circus Park on the site of the former Detroit Statler Hotel -- called for several "nano" apartments, in addition to studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms. However, a spokesman for the project's developer Village Green said last week that it's too early in the design process to know for sure if micro units will be included.

The micro apartment trend is especially hot in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle, cities that have seen rent prices spike beyond what many younger workers can afford. While most new apartments in Detroit are still absolute bargains compared to real estate in those cities, rental prices here have been marching upward to about $2 per square foot for Class A units as demand continues to outpace supply.

Even though micro units are cheaper for tenants than regular-size studios and one-bedroom apartments, they are also good business for developers and landlords, who can charge slightly more per square foot than the market's normal rate. No prices have been announced for the new Detroit micro lofts, but a possible rate of $2.20 per square foot would mean $660 per month for a 300-square-foot unit — not including utility costs or parking.

"With smaller units, you're pushing the price per-square foot up and it just helps to create a better profit model," said Sue Mosey, executive director of Midtown Detroit Inc.. "You're going to start seeing this for sure in the greater downtown."

In Detroit, the 13-story micro lofts building being built by Gilbert's Bedrock would rise at 28 W. Grand River on the site of a parking lot and the Grind, a burned-out strip club. It would be the first entirely new residential building in the core of downtown in many years.

Project architect Robert Kraemer of Detroit-based Kraemer Design Group said the approximately 220 planned apartments would likely run between 300 and 400 square feet. Groundbreaking could happen early next year.

An earlier design for the building showed floor plans for micro units averaging just 259 square feet. The drawings included ground-floor retail bays and amenities for residents including a community lounge and a fitness center. There was no on-site parking, but indoor bike storage.

A representative for Gilbert's Bedrock Real Estate Services would not comment last week on the size of the apartments.

"Bedrock development is doing extensive market research locally and nationally to determine final floor plan and unit sizes," Steve Rosenthal, a principal at Bedrock, said in an e-mail. "We plan to include some commercial/retail space on the ground floor and we also plan to make amenities available for residents like Zipcars, extra storage for bikes/bike sharing, Rocket Fiber gigabit Internet and more."

The overall look of the new building's exterior would blend in well with the early 20th-Century architectural styles of Capitol Park. The building will feature some classic elements of that style, including a modest rooftop cornice and a traditional base-shaft-capital design. The base will be a darker brick, and the upper portions will be a precast concrete in a lighter tone, Kraemer said

A recent report on micro apartments by the Urban Land Institute said that adults younger than 30 are primarily driving the trend. This demographic has shown an interest in urban neighborhoods that are gentrifying yet still perceived as "authentic," and where young people might otherwise have trouble affording an apartment of their own.

The report describes how some in real estate are referring to micro units as "launchpads" because they make ideal entry-level apartments for workers who just finished school and are starting careers.

"Our tagline in marketing these is 'live in the city, sleep in your micro,'" Ayres said. "It is what millennials do — they go to work in the morning, they come home, shower, change, and go out for the evening. Their recreation is the city— they're not sitting in an apartment."

A brief street survey last week of young people in downtown Detroit found that early and mid-twentysomethings were generally open to the micro apartment idea. However, those closer to 30 said they preferred more space.

"If I was working here, that is totally what I'd be looking for," said Olivia Barrow, 21, an Ann Arbor native and currently a senior at George Washington University. "Ideally, I would like to have my own room, but honestly the price is the first thing for me."

Downtown worker Brittany Carpenter, 24, said she would definitely check out micro apartments once they arrive. "I know I don't need much space and I lived in a dorm in my college years, so this is pretty similar," said the current Grosse Pointe Park resident.

But Andrew Ferrans, 29, said he and his wife are at the point in their lives where they need more room.

"If I was like 22, 23, and single still, I would be into this," said Ferrans, who recalled living in a 190-square-foot apartment with a kitchenette during his time at Wayne State University. "For me at the time, I loved it."

Some cities such as New York have made exceptions to their building codes' size requirements to allow for micro apartments.

Detroit has no minimum dwelling size, although the Michigan Building Code requires at least 220 square feet of living area per unit, not including bathroom and closet space.

For the Walbridge Common project in Kalamazoo, set to open as early as next summer, one goal was to create quality yet affordable housing for the young service-industry employees who work downtown, according to Ayres of the project's development group.

The building also will have several 500-square-foot lofts and 700-square-foot, one-bedroom units that the micros tenants might wish to move up to as they progress in their careers, he said.

"That was the whole impetus of it — how do we develop a space that people can afford," Ayres said.

What is a micro apartment?

Generally 350 square feet or smaller, sometimes up to 400 square feet.

Are cheaper overall to rent, but cost slightly more per square foot than regular studios or one-bedroom units.

Especially popular among workers younger than 30 who want their own apartment.

Buildings with micro units often include communal spaces for tenants.