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MSU students share their experience living in Landmark

March 10, 2020
<p>Landmark on 205 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing - photographed on Mar. 9, 2020</p>

Landmark on 205 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing - photographed on Mar. 9, 2020

Photo by Jack Falinski | The State News

This article is part of The State News' spring 2020 housing guide.

Everyone knows that apartment hunting is no fun. Especially in a college town like East Lansing, where spots get filled up before you can say the word “lease.” 

Landmark on Grand River, located right in the heart of downtown, is a fairly new apartment complex that opened in August 2019. Residents of Landmark shared their experience of what it’s like to live there.

“One good (thing) is, if I must say, the location," physics junior Andhika Adiantoro said. “There’s a grocery store downstairs so if I need anything quick, I can just go downstairs and get it.”

Adiantoro said one of the things he likes about his studio apartment is that it came fully furnished and he didn’t have to shop for it by himself, which would take a tedious amount of time. He said he preferred the monthly billing for rent.

“In terms of what I get from paying, I would say it’s worth it,” Adiantoro said. “It’s basically like an extended dorm because most people that live here are students anyway. And it’s literally right across the street from the border of campus so it doesn’t really feel like an apartment to me.”

Adiantoro plans to graduate in December 2021. He decided to renew his lease for the next year and a half.

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Zoology junior Shelby Hill said the location convinced her to choose Landmark. Hill said she didn’t want to drive to classes this year, so it was perfect that she can walk across the street.

"I love everything about it except the management,” Hill said. “It's their first year here so you'd expect some sort of problems. But ... they're not on top of it payment-wise … I know my roommate and I are paying different rents even though we should be paying the same rent, so we're confused about that.”

Hill said some residents lost their parking spots because they weren’t getting charged for parking at all, as it wasn’t being added to their rent the way it is supposed to. Hill also said she was paying a different parking fee than her roommate and her neighbor, even though they all signed up for the lease at the same time.

"I'm not sure how it's all organized here, but it's not very organized,” Hill said. "We're confused what's going on, but we're just going with it and paying every month. ... It's hard to explain, but everything else about living here is great. I love the laundry in our apartment and I think it's only the 11th and 12th floors that get TV … they have grills, which is super convenient.”

Hill and her roommate have decided to live in a house next year and not renew their lease.

"(It's) probably one of the nicest places to live on campus," business sophomore Callyn Birchmeier said. "I think having access to all the amenities down here ... and being able to live so close to everything and being able to walk to class is really beneficial. You can't get that with a lot of places on campus." 

Birchmeier said the best feature of living in Landmark is the location and the quality of the rooms. She said the the biggest downside is having to walk across the alley at night.

“If you are someone who goes out a lot and also you want to save money on Ubers, this is really close to all the nightlife here." Birchmeier said. "For everything you get ... the price is pretty reasonable.”

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