Downtown Living: More People Are Figuring It Out

One of the core pillars of our Main Street Reimagined vision from the very beginning was dramatically increasing the number of people who actually live downtown. I believed early on that building a real downtown ecosystem required more than great places to eat, drink, work, and gather. People needed to be able to live here too.

Our third downtown project included our first loft apartments. Since then, we have constructed or renovated dozens more, and today HDG has over 70 apartments within the walkable core of downtown Marion. They range from small and efficient to spacious units with large living areas and high-end finishes. There is genuinely something for most any budget and lifestyle.

What has been deeply gratifying is watching the kinds of people who are drawn to downtown living. The majority of our residents are younger professionals, many of whom have moved back to Marion or relocated from Delaware, Marysville, or Columbus. They get more space, better finishes, and lower cost than what they left behind, and they do not sacrifice anything on the amenities front because so much is right outside their door. But it is not only young

professionals. We also have families, empty nesters, and a growing number of retirees who are done maintaining a home and love the idea of being able to walk everywhere.

We have been working hard over the last several months to help people see downtown Marion as one big lifestyle community…a place to live that has great coffee, diverse dining, entertainment, and gathering spaces all within walking distance. These types of communities are popping up in suburbs all over the country, marketed as something new and innovative. But walkable living in

a historic downtown is not a new concept. It is actually the original one.

One thing to know about our availability is that it tends to move in waves. Our lofts have naturally come online in batches as we have completed projects, which means there are stretches with a waiting list and very little to offer, and stretches where several different shapes and sizes become available at once. Just a month or so ago, we had multiple units open as The Lydia and Church and Main lofts came online together, alongside a handful of nonrenewals where residents were moving on. Now, only one unit from that collection is available and as of today, we just had four downtown lofts come available, making six total available properties. It’s an ever-changing landscape. That is just how it goes.

We encourage anyone who is interested to stay on our radar, reach out when you are ready, and plan ahead without planning too far ahead. We typically do not know what is coming available beyond a couple months out.

If you have shared our lofts with a friend, family member, or coworker who might be a good fit for downtown living, thank you. We never take that for granted, and we hope you will keep doing it.