Mandi Wimmer has watched the building on the corner of East Fourth Street and Grand Avenue develop over the past year as she drives to her office in the state Capitol. As the Drake University graduate, who is special events coordinator for the office of the governor and lieutenant governor, researched the project, she became excited about the loft-style living. She will become one of the first to move in when the building opens for occupancy in November.

“I was ready not only for a location change but also an atmosphere change. East Village Square provided it,” said Wimmer, 24, who now lives in an apartment near 31st Street and Grand Avenue in Des Moines. “It has the vibe of an urban city without the chaos.”

Currently, there are just over 20 deposits for the 115-unit building. The Hatch Development Group, which spearheaded the project for the Neighborhood Investment Corp., expects that number to rise rapidly as construction ends, increasing the young demographic in the area. The developers’ interest in the young, trendy professional is further shown with the marketing slogan “kick ass living,” accompanied by an image of a bucking bronco.

Bob Mickle, president of the NIC, said they want to attract younger tenants, because they have had success with that kind of tenant in their first project, the Woodland Brickstone. Those apartments have a 95 percent occupancy rate, he said, and he expects to repeat that success here. In addition, Mike Rossi, senior associate for Hatch Development, thinks younger tenants are attracted to the trendy East Village image. So far, though, Rossi said the lofts have drawn a mix of people.

Besides more residents, who will invite family and friends over, increasing pedestrian traffic in the East Village, the lofts are also expected bring more retail diversity with artists and entrepreneurs predicted to move into the 21 work/live lofts on the first floor.

“You’re going to have quite a few additional customers and quite a few additional businesses,” said Mickle.

Although the work/live lofts are considered residential units, the expectation is that because of the units’ high rents, the tenants will use the spaces to start small businesses. “We want to draw pedestrian traffic down here and continue retail growth, said Rossi. “[These units] are filling a market niche that exists but is not tapped into yet.”

A tax credit allocation of about $400,000 each year over the next 10 years from the Iowa Finance Authority requires East Village Square to make 54 of its units affordable for at least 35 years. Each affordable unit is expected to have floor plans and amenities comparable to those of the market-rate units, said Rossi, and interested tenants will have to verify income, among other qualifications. If a tenant’s income exceeds that maximum while he or she lives there, his or her unit will become market rate and the next open unit will become affordable.

Weitz Co., in partnership with project subcontractor Koester Construction, will complete construction of the $16.2 million project less than a year and a half after it began. Planned by W.A. Architecture, the building is designed to fit in with the East Village’s style.

“We studied history photos from the area,” said Brad Rippey, associate architect with Bill Anderson on the project, “and looked at what [the neighborhood] was and what the neighborhood wanted to become.” The architects also looked at urban models from New York and Chicago.

The building has classical proportions and a typical East Village look, with storefronts on the first level, apartments a few stories above, an accented top and a corner entrance that stands out. Though most of the building’s exterior is brick, the corner is accented with galvanized steel.

Inside, the units feel open, with 18-foot ceilings in the work/live lofts and 9-foot ceilings in the second- through fifth-floor units. They have a raw industrial aesthetic, with exposed concrete walls and metal vents contrasted with natural elements, such as maple wood, and bright accent colors of orange, olive and blue.

The layouts of the work/live lofts are “very versatile,” said Rossi. A kitchen is set against one wall near a diagonal staircase that juts into the middle of the room. A large open space on the other side is designed for retail. In back of the loft is a bathroom and room large enough to be a small bedroom or office. Upstairs is a loft area hidden from the lower level with a partial wall and another bathroom.

The work/live lofts on the street side have tall windows typical of retail stores, while those facing the courtyard have smaller windows and are designed for more service-oriented businesses. The floors and walls are exposed concrete and industrial-looking lights line the walls, contrasted by a maple staircase and a brightly colored panel that extends partway across the kitchen wall.

Above the work/live lofts are four floors with 20 to 23 units each. Like the work/live lofts, these units come with black appliances, industrial-looking lights and touches of maple and the same accent colors.

The one-bedroom units have a bedroom and living room area separated by a diagonal steel panel standing freely in the center and painted in one of three accent colors. The goal with the steel panel, said Rossi, is to make the room memorable to anyone who sees it. In addition to changing the color of the partial wall, the carpet and linoleum flooring vary slightly from unit to unit.

The studio apartments are similar but do not include a steel panel. The six two-bedroom units are more enclosed, with two bedrooms separated with doors and a living space large enough for about six friends to hang out before going out downtown, said Rossi.

Wimmer, who is moving into a two-bedroom unit with a roommate, was pleased with the space and the rent, just over $1,000 a month. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to afford it,” she said. “It’s nice to open something up for people our age that is affordable.

The building also will include a 600-square-foot lobby and an office staffed by the apartment managing company, Perennial Property Management, during normal business hours. There are laundry machines in each work/live loft; tenants on floors two through five will share a facility behind the elevators on each level.

Each two-bedroom unit comes with one parking space behind the building and all tenants have the option of leasing one of 40 additional spaces across the street for $40 a month. Rossi expects several tenants will choose not to have a car and instead walk or take the bus that goes by on Locust.

Wimmer has decided to keep her car because her family lives nearby, but said with a grocery store planned to open in the neighborhood, it wouldn’t be too hard to live without a car. The only negative, said Wimmer, is that there’s no gym in the East Village.

Like the Woodland Brickstone development, the profits the NIC makes from East Village Square will go back into the community for capital improvements. It donated $25,000 toward improvements of the Robert Mickle Neighborhood Resource Center in Sherman Hill and said the money raised from this project will likely go to Historic East Village Inc.

Beyond Wimmer’s excitement of living close to work in an urban setting, she is also excited to be part of the area’s revitalization. With an understanding that more bars and restaurants will open in the next couple of years, Wimmer said, “I’m excited to watch the East Village transition and expand and urbanize even more.”