Legacy on Speer – Legacy Partners Planning 7-story Golden Triangle Apartment Complex
Channel 9 TV News
February 16, 2016
DENVER – Drive in or around downtown Denver and it won’t take you long to spot a crane and then another and then one more — with nearly each one representing yet another apartment building trying to outshine the ones that came before it — like six months before.
The latest addition to Denver’s luxury apartment craze came in recent days by San Francisco-based Legacy Partners — a seven-story, 323-unit complex to be built on what is currently a 2.3 acre parking lot off of Speer Boulevard between 13th and 14th avenues. (Our partners at the Denver Business Journal reported this earlier this week)
It was a nine-month effort that led to a purchase of $17.5 million for the land.
But despite a vacancy rate of 6.8 percent and trending upwards, according to the Apartment Association of Metro Denver, developers still see the metro area as a lucrative market, and they’re using some incredible amenities and rent discounts more than ever before to not only get people to rent, but to keep them renting for years to come.
It used to be that a gym and pool would help developers separate themselves from most other complexes, but the luxury apartment craze has made those amenities seem almost mundane to many luxury apartment shoppers.
For instance, the new Legacy Partners development will feature a fitness center and third-story pool with a mountain view, but it will also feature a roof-top deck, a conference center, offices, a lounge with televisions, a gaming room, a wine cellar, a self-serve bike repair shop and even a “dog spa,” a dog washing station that may or may not be staffed.
Rents there will range anywhere from $1,500 to several thousand dollars per month, depending on the size of the apartment and the length of the lease.
Spencer Stuart, with Legacy Partners, said they’re just trying to “one-up” the next developer, which makes it likely that every developer is thinking the same way.
Many apartment companies combine the amenities with anywhere from two-weeks free rent to two-months free rent to attract potential renters.
That begs the question — if the majority of all new apartments being built are part of so-called “luxury communities,” how do the so-called “middle of the road” apartments compete?
“Middle-of-the-road apartments are seeing some upgrades as well,” said Nancy Burke with the Apartment Association. “They want to keep up with the Joneses.”
