Mazza Grandmarc NOW OPEN
August 1st, 2010 | by Marcus Afzali | Published in Bicycles, Businesses, Housing, Mazza Grandmarc, Projects, Transportation | 5 Comments
The long awaited opening of the Mazza Grandmarc took place today as the first graduate students were allowed to move in. The primary move in date for non graduate students will be August 22nd. I spoke with the on site manager who told me the Mazza is now around 45% full (it was under 10% full when rethink college park visited there a few months back). A little over 60 people will be moving in today which is a around 10% of the total capacity for the apartment complex (around 630 beds). Two aspects about the Mazza that excite me the most are that it is connected to the Paint Branch Bike Trail system which leads to the University of Maryland campus and that it has its own UMD DOTS bus route. Hopefully students will take advantage of these ecological friendly options when deciding how to get to campus which would help minimize the traffic impact that the Mazza will create.
I won’t write too much about the Mazza Grandmarc as there is already a long history of articles on it on this site, but the Mazza property owners are still trying to buy the properties directly on Route One in front of the apartment complex so they can build decent retail establishments there. Hopefully the opening of the Mazza today is just the start of a redevelopment process that will both beautify a section of Route One and lead to more high quality dining and shopping options in College Park. Despite the fact that the Mazza is finally opening today this project is still a work in progress in terms of its full potential.
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:54 pm (#)
I know they said only grad students were moving in Sunday, but I’m not so sure as I’ve bumped in to several undergrads in the 2 days I’ve been living there…no raucous parties yet.
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August 4th, 2010 at 10:15 am (#)
They said early move in would be for grad students but when I was there I did see some people that looked like they might be undergrads. By the way I’ve heard the Mazza isn’t in the best condition yet (though they say it is still in progress till the 22nd). How has your living experience been so far?
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August 5th, 2010 at 11:28 am (#)
For the most part, the building is in good shape. But it is a work in progress; the locks on the doors from the garage to interior hallways are inoperable, there are still several places around the perimeter of the building that are just barren earth, and the trash chutes aren’t up and running yet. The apartment itself is complete and the hallways are carpeted and painted. If everything continues as is, I think it will be a very good living experience.
There are some things about the business side of things that bother me. The lease itself was about 40 pages long and we’ve had to sign several addendums. I suppose they are covering their backs, but they come off as a very cold, but well oiled corporate machine.
I stated this in my facebook review and I saw a complaint about it in another yahoo review: I think they are crazy to ask motorcycle riders to pay the same rate to park as car drivers. If this is a green initiative they have it all wrong: my motorcycle gets 60mpg.
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August 20th, 2010 at 9:11 am (#)
I moved in on August 1st and I only have positive things to say about the leasing agency, the building itself and the overall living experience. First and foremost, the leasing agency was very friendly and helpful throughout the entire process. I do not know what the previous poster was speaking of in regards to a 40 page lease. My lease was 8 pages and contained one ammendum for construction. My leasing agent showed me three different rooms and let me have my pick from the options, which is something the View did not do when I looked into their complex. The building has every ammenity a tennant would desire. The gym is spacious and has state-of-the-art equipment, the pool is very large and there is even a movie theater/tanning room. Finally, my personal room is larger than any other room I have lived in while staying in College Park. The rooms are furnished with modern furniture and each apartment includes a 42″ TV. My only complaint about this apartment is the price of the units (I got a special rate of $799 a month), but housing in College Park is inflated. Overall this looks like it will be a great experience.
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August 29th, 2010 at 7:09 pm (#)
I don’t know, the place is great in some respects – super fast internet, luxurious, good amenities, etc. – but they are somewhat cutthroat in their leasing practices. They will tell you just about anything to get you to sign a lease and once you do they pretty much ignore you. And yeah, I agree that it’s way too expensive… though all these new luxury apartments opening up soon should help a bit with prices.
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