The developers of Premier Place condominiums on the east side of Boardman Lake are gearing up to build a 72-unit apartment complex just north of the existing condos.

But some condo owners want assurances that it won’t infringe on their waterfront access or create traffic issues.

Garfield Township first approved development of the apartment building in 2003, but Nederveld Engineering submitted an application in March with proposed design changes, including moving the apartment building 40 feet closer to the Boardman Lake. Developers also now propose a pool and patio for the apartment dwellers that would be partly on land originally designated as open space. The space is used by condo owners as an access site to the lake and leads to a boat dock.

“It needs to be wide enough to park on,” says Janet Wolf, a condo owner and resident. “If we just have a narrow path, how are we going to take things down there for a bonfire or a picnic or to go kayaking?”

Wolf and others say they also fear an increase in traffic on their streets from apartment users getting in and out of the complex.

Co-developer Steve Nicolas says they need not worry.

“There’s no way” the project will impede their access, he says. “We gave them a conservation easement on the whole slope.”

The apartments will actually benefit the residents in the 110 condos in several ways, Nicolas adds. He says a second access road – off Woodmere Avenue – will be added to the site. The apartment project will also help pay for an extra coat of pavement, speed bumps, and extra sidewalks heading to the waterfront – all requested by condo residents.

Developers had also proposed changing the building height from 40 to 50 feet for the four-story building, but have since returned to the 40-foot plan.

Developers say they’ll address condo owners’ concerns and finalize their plans at a mid-September condo owners’ meeting.

“We just waited way too long” to address concerns, Nicolas says.

Developers say construction timing will not be determined until the project is approved, and that the general contractor would likely be Orion Construction of Grand Rapids.