CREJ - Multifamily Properties Quarterly - November 2017
Multifamily design in Denver has evolved from a minor part of most architectural practices to a booming business endeavoring to deliver a rental experience defined by lifestyle-based amenities and the increased demand for service and convenience. And that convenience comes in many forms – everything from a community’s location, to its amenity spaces to its service offerings. As consumer preferences have shifted and the supply of apartments has skyrocketed, developers and the architects who design their buildings have looked for new, creative ways to differentiate each community and stand out from the competition. •Zeroing in on renter profiles. In order to effectively program a building, developers and architects must first understand who will live in it. Today, there are two types of renters: “renters by need,” or those who cannot qualify to purchase a home, and “renters by choice,” who may qualify but choose to rent for increased flexibility. These two renter cohorts may have the same demands – for example, a preferred number of bedrooms – but often they are on opposite ends of the price spectrum. Therefore, the market has adapted to capture each of the two respective markets, fine-tuning variables like unit mix, size, finishes and amenities. With renter profiles spanning the demographic spectrum, new multifamily buildings are increasingly designed to have multigenerational appeal. Amenities such as a playroom cater to both young couples with children and empty nesters with grandchildren. Health oriented offerings such as fitness centers, pools and yoga studios also have stood the test of time during this most recent cycle. •Reimagining for maximum return. In metro Denver, condominium construction was booming prior to the Great Recession, while apartment construction lagged. Once the economy shifted, it became clear that three-story walk-up apartments – the most common and economical subset of the multifamily housing genre – would be the first housing type to reemerge. During the recession, we set out to redefine the common three-story walk-up from a typical garden apartment – historically surrounded by a ring of parking – to a uniquely urban condition. We turned the traditional model inside out, hiding the parking in tuck-under garages and courtyards between and behind buildings, while addressing the streets in an urban rowhouse fashion, often with porch stoops leading to the public sidewalk. Doing so gave these classic apartment homes a new and widely appealing aesthetic. As large, undeveloped sites became harder to find, and land costs escalated, developers needed to increase density to achieve desired returns. Today, in addition to designing high-rises, we are designing more apartment projects of five, six and seven stories in height – often with wood-frame construction over a concrete parking podium. TriVista on Speer, a 322-unit rental community in Denver’s Golden Triangle, which we designed and is being developed by Legacy Partners, features a five-story wood frame atop a two-story concrete podium. Scheduled to open in 2019, it is the first project of this construction type approved by the city and county of Denver, even prior to Denver’s adoption of the 2015 International Building Code, which first allowed such construction. •Expanding beyond the traditional. As Denver’s multifamily market continues to evolve, there is a growing concern, particularly in center city neighborhoods, that supply is catching up with, or surpassing, demand. As a result, some developers are choosing not to compete head-to-head with the new product coming on line. Instead, they’re diversifying, either geographically outside the downtown core or by targeting alternative – yet similar – product types, such as age-qualified (55+) apartments or condominium projects. It may seem that the recent influx of people moving to Colorado are mainly millennials, who account for 52 percent of in-migration. But the growing number of people retiring in the state is staggering. From 2010 to 2025, the number of people retiring is expected to increase by 74 percent compared with only a 27 percent increase in labor force. While some may question why a developer would choose to limit the rental pool to only those over 55 – actually, the average tenant is closer to 72 years old – these renters tend to stay for longer periods of time, typically about seven years, reducing turnover costs associated with younger, more transient renters. The KTGY-designed Vita for Zocalo Community Development, a 55+ community in Littleton, addresses the empty nester, down-sizer and retiring baby boomer generation. Luxury condominiums are becoming more attractive and we’ve seen projects shift from apartments to condos because developers simply couldn’t achieve the desired returns by building a rental community on the site. Such was the case for Metropolitan Homes at Boulevard One in the Lowry neighborhood. •Transit-oriented development for living and working. The public investment in the continued expansion of Denver’s FasTracks rail system has resulted in a building boom of sorts around many stations. The common wisdom is that if you can’t afford to live downtown, you can at least be connected to it – and the rest of the Denver metro – for work or entertainment purposes. In addition to lower housing costs than comparable units downtown, this type of location can reduce or eliminate expenses associated with owning a vehicle, adding to the value proposition. The rising number of work-from-home professionals has driven the creation of next-level live/work spaces that go beyond the traditional business center found in many residential communities. TriVista on Speer, for example, includes four ground-floor, storefront-style live/work units. Each 1,490-square-foot space is split into two levels: a fully open first floor with a half bath – ideal for a home-based business – and a second-level living quarters with one bedroom and one bath. While these renters may not need access to transit for a daily commute, they still want to be connected to nightlife, entertainment, culture and recreation. Going into 2018, trends likely to impact the state of multifamily housing in Denver include demographic shifts, land availability and a movement toward outlying neighborhoods. More than ever, architects and developers will need to continue to deliver stand-out communities that incorporate timeless design aesthetics and built-in service and convenience, but at an ever-increasing density … even in the suburbs.