See inside Portage’s newest luxury apartments

PORTAGE, MI — A trio of new towers paint the skyline over Centre Avenue in Portage, and the new apartments are just as impressive on the inside.

Tall Timbers, a new luxury apartment complex at 3413 W. Centre Ave., opened in January. The apartments are situated on the 100-acre Greenspire development, offering something new to the sprawling complex, said Greg Dobson, AVB’s COO and principal.

Tall Timbers Portage is owned by Hinman Family LLC, and AVB co-founder Joseph Gesmundo. The long-time area developers built the first Greenspire units in the 1980s.

“We really have three completely different price ranges,” Dobson said. “We have the original Greenspire, the phase that happened between 2012 and 2018 and now Tall Timbers.”

See a video tour of the new apartments, below.

Two of the three towers have opened, with 60 apartments in each.

In the first two months of 2025, about half of the 120 available units have been leased. The third tower is expected to open soon.

The upscale ambiance starts in the hallways. AVB worked with a sound engineer to make them as quiet as possible, Dobson said.

Soft LED overhead lights and sconces at every door illuminate the space.

The new building’s three towers each span the length of a football field, Dobson said.

The smallest units — studio apartments — start at $1,236 per month, per the Tall Timbers website.

Its largest units — two-bed, two-bath apartments — range from $2,020 and $2,599 per month. Two-bedroom units come with a garage and an underground parking spot.

AVB built luxury features into each units. Open-concept kitchens feature stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and designer cabinetry.

Even the smallest space comes with an in-unit washer and dryer, ample closet space and a tile shower.

Green roofs planted on top of the garages are both beautiful and functional, Dobson said, blocking the parking lot below from view of the windows.

MORE: Rooftop gardens will help keep luxury Portage apartments cool

Private patios on the building’s west-facing side overlook a bog that’s lined by mangled trees.

In May 2024, an EF-2 tornado ripped through Portage, passing over Centre Avenue, the bog and Tall Timbers, Dobson said.

There was very little damage to the building, Dobson said. Part of the roof peeled off and about 20 windows were pulled off or shot into the rooms during the storm.

The tornado damage caused some delays in the construction process. The first apartments were originally expected to open in July 2024.

MORE: Luxury apartments under construction were damaged by Portage tornado

Trees are an important part of the Greenspire complex, Dobson said. They also serve as a buffer from the busy road nearby.

“We shoehorned our buildings into the trees,” Dobson said. “It’s like the trees grew up around these buildings.”

On the east side of the building, saplings have been planted in place of the mature trees that once towered over the building’s main entrance.

Luxury goes beyond the units themselves. Residents share common spaces for entertaining, relaxing and working in the building’s lower level.

An entertainment room near the main entrance offers a pool table and 98-inch TV, as well as a large couch, fireplace and counter space to work at.

Outside, a patio with tables, lounge chairs and two grills overlooks the bog.

Across the hall, the cafe room is open to residents any time it isn’t reserved for a party or special event, Dobson said.

Both spaces augment apartment living. They’re a place to watch a game with friends, host a birthday party or get a little space from your roommate, Dobson said.

There’s a solution for office space, too. Tall Timbers offers three soundproof “Zoom rooms” with soft seating and perfect lighting for a video call or study session.

A yoga studio and gym, stocked by Dobson himself, offer space for residents to work out without leaving the building. Plans for a resident-led yoga class are in the works, he said.

Even pets can enjoy the luxury lifestyle.

A washtub, blow dryer and all the shampoo and conditioner needed for bath time are available for residents.

Each of these spaces, plus the mailroom, are accessible to residents via an app or four-digit code. This system can also be used to buzz guests into the building.

In addition to private garages for two-bedroom apartment residents, Tall Timbers offers an indoor parking space with its one and two-bedroom apartments.

“This entire building is built over a 144-car underground parking lot,” Dobson said.

The structure was built into the hillside to reduce the parking footprint on the property, he said. The underground space stays about 50 degrees year-round.

A carbon dioxide detection system ensures air inside the space is safe for residents, as does a high-speed garage door and cameras placed throughout the building.

The $48 million project offers 10% of its units to households earning between 80-120% of area median income, due to state investments in the project. That’s about $64,000 to $96,000 a year for a family of two.

Portage approved plans for the building in May 2022. It was identified as a priority for the city in its efforts to meet the community’s housing needs.

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