The O'Colly

7-story complex to replace Maple 400

11/28/17

An old apartment building with boarded-up windows stands at the corner of Maple and West streets in Stillwater, but a new 7-story apartment complex will take its place.

The Maple 400 townhomes have been home to numerous Stillwater residents during the past decades. Maple 400’s proximity to campus made it a popular residence for Oklahoma State students, but Bob Tourtellotte, its former owner, sold the complex to Barrett Investment Properties two years ago.

Trinitas Ventures, based in Lafayette, Indiana, has proposed a new building on the lot, indicating a deal between Barrett and Trinitas is either in the works or already completed. Representatives of Trinitas proposed their plan to the city of Stillwater at city planning commission meeting Oct. 3.

The proposed building is set to be a seven-story apartment complex that will feature 204 units with 704 bed spaces. The complex will be called Stillwater Lofts, said Brad Bennett of Trinitas Ventures. The property’s targeted completion date is August 2019, but Trinitas Ventures is also evaluating an August 2020 opening because of higher construction costs.

“We’ve had our eye on Stillwater for 2 to 3 years,” Bennett said. “We are attracted by Oklahoma State University and its continued enrollment growth and investment on and around campus.

“Not only is the site steps away from the heart of campus, it is also walkable to the bars, restaurants and shops.”

Humphreys & Partners Architects, based in Dallas, designed the complex and joined Trinitas Ventures for its presentation about the project in October.

The property will feature bedrooms for one person up through five people to an apartment, mixing flats-style apartments and townhomes in the same complex.

Keystone Engineering, a Stillwater-based company, is also involved in the project. The company has worked on the Prime Place apartments and Aspen Heights.

Tourtellotte sold the Maple 400 complex but still owns the Maple 500 townhomes located near his old property. He said he welcomes the new venture to Stillwater.

“I think it’s a good thing for that side of campus,” Tourtellotte said. “It’s a good thing to have brand-new development. It’s good for students because it means that landlords around town have to get more competitive and fix up their units.”

Residents of Stillwater Lofts will also have access to a 15,000-square-foot, all-inclusive clubhouse with a state-of-the-art fitness center, study rooms, a computer lounge and large-screen TVs. The Lofts will be the private off-campus property that is closest to OSU’s campus, Bennett said.

The past few years, Stillwater has seen an explosion of student housing as Progress 405, 5iftyone at Tradan Heights and Avid Square are all either open or expected to soon open to residents of Stillwater. When these complexes are paired with large complexes such as Aspen Heights, Avenue East and Prime Place, it becomes clear that there might be too many beds and not enough people to fill them.

Knowing parking near campus becomes more valuable each year, Stillwater Lofts will showcase a four-story parking garage centralized in the middle of its property. The lofts will also feature a luxury pool and a courtyard, Bennett said.

At Stillwater’s city planning commission meeting Oct. 3, Robert Williams, a representative of Eskimo Joe’s, said he wasn’t opposed to the plan but voiced some concerns about the project.

“I know when we have had other apartment complexes built in town, they’ve had to close city streets,” Williams said. “Closing West Street or Elm Street is not good for Eskimo Joe’s and other businesses.

“West Street is critical to our business, and Elm Street is critical to lots of traffic to campus.”

But Tourtellotte said this is likely good for students as it allows for more options closer to campus. OSU students will face a plethora of choices for the place they want to call home when Stillwater Lofts opens its doors to join the multiple other apartment complexes in Stillwater.