By TaMaryn Waters

Signs of residential life at Cascades Park emerged last week when four new tenants, the first of three dozen secured leases, moved into upscale apartments overlooking the park. 

For two years, Tallahassee has been watching an army of hard hats turning dirt and erecting steel at the $158-million Cascades Project — the largest redevelopment of two city blocks in downtown history. 

The apartment building, Millstream at Cascades, pays homage to Tallahassee history and a passage written by Tallahassee founder, John Lee Williams, where he describes seeing a “pleasant mill stream, collected waters of several fine springs …” in his book, “A View of West Florida.”

The “pleasant mill stream” was the St. Augustine Branch, a creek that ran along present-day Franklin Boulevard and meandered to what’s now Cascades Park.

In 2013, the St. Augustine Branch was paved with the completion of stormwater improvements on Franklin Boulevard, according to a 2017 column by the late Gerald Ensley, a longtime writer for the Tallahassee Democrat.   

Fast forward to today, Phase I of the massive mixed-use development is rounding its final lap as residents begin moving in. More than half of the 161 apartments are complete on the north and south end of the high-rise that runs parallel with Gadsden Street.

Remaining units should be done in about a month, along with the construction of amenities like the fire pit, pool and fitness facility.

The cost of calling Cascades home doesn’t come cheap. For example, a 500-plus square-foot studio apartment ranges from $1,271 to $1,506 monthly. A two-bedroom lux apartment with a wraparound balcony is priced between $3,097 to $3,897 monthly.

Read the full story at https://tallahassee.com

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