A rental rebound

Molly Schoen lives in a penthouse unit with skyline views. Her building has a saltwater fish tank in the lobby. She has access to a fitness center and hot tub, and she can easily jog to nearby Lake Calhoun.

Schoen doesn't own a trendy condo; she rents an apartment in the new Lake Calhoun City Apartments -- one of several hundred luxury apartments recently constructed or scheduled to be built in the Twin Cities metro area in the coming year.

"It doesn't feel like apartment living," said Schoen, a single nursing student. "The units are awesome. I'm proud to show it off."

This flurry of new construction, the most in several years, is being driven by Schoen and others, who are among the new breed of renters by choice -- singles, empty nesters and the recently divorced. Some have owned homes in the suburbs, but have decided to rent.

Next year developers are expected to build more than 850 luxury apartments, mostly in the Uptown neighborhood in Minneapolis, and there are many more to come. There are plans to build more than 3,700 units between 2008 and 2010, according to GVA Marquette Advisors in Minneapolis, a company that tracks rental projects throughout the Twin Cities metro area.

"People are upgrading to a superior location and product and they're willing to pay for it," said Brent Wittenberg of GVA Marquette Advisors.

The draw is condo-style living without the maintenance and financial responsibility of homeownership, said Diane Cederberg, manager of Lake Calhoun City Apartments.