The rental boom now sweeping the Twin Cities has raised the bar for the kinds of amenities found in today's apartment buildings, with outdoor kitchens and roof decks among the offerings.
Renters, most of them in their 20s or early 30s, want hip places to socialize and entertain their friends. So apartment owners must up the ante and build trendier living spaces if they want to compete.
That was the message an expert panel delivered to members of the Minnesota Multi-Housing Association recently on the latest trends dominating the robust wave of apartment building.
About 12,000 new units are in the development pipeline in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area. And vacancies stand at 2.8 percent -- a 12-year low, said Brent Wittenberg of the multifamily housing research firm Marquette Advisors.
The market is dominated by 25-to-34-year-olds who are renters by choice and are seeking the social benefits of living in a stylish apartment community with like-minded peers, he said.
Architect Noah Bly, whose firm UrbanWorks Architecture has designed several of the entrants in the new apartment wave, added that new renters are looking for modern, high-quality apartment product that differentiates itself through branding and availability of the latest amenities.
High on the list of the latter is "great outdoor spaces," he said.
"That means fantastic courtyards, where the grills have become complete outdoor kitchens," he said. "There's fire pits and just a lot of activity outside in these outdoor areas."
