That's an accomplishment among the metro areas 150,000 apartment units where the June occupancy level was 94%, according to Apartment Realty Advisors of Boca Raton. Rent reductions and other concessions still play an integral role in leasing up rental ventures, Kevin Judd, a principal at ARA, tells GlobeSt.com.
But Tarragon president William S. Friedman credits a design and marketing strategy for the success of the $20.3 million Vintage Cottage venture, about 15 miles east of Downtown and five miles from the airport.
Tarragon built low-density, two-story buildings with only 10 homes per building, "rather than the more common, three-story, 24-unit to 32-unit breezeway stack," says Friedman. Fugleberg Koch Architects of suburban Winter Park designed the project.
"Not only do we offer competitively price rentals, including a washer and dryer in every apartment, nine-foot ceilings, Berber carpet, private patios or balconies and full-mirrored closet doors, but our community is pet-friendly and features a resort pool, spa, fitness center and indoor basketball court," says Friedman, whose company has developed 16,000 apartment units nationwide and 1.5 million sf of commercial space aggregately valued at more than $1 billion.
Living areas at Vintage Cottages range from 558 sf for a studio apartment that rents from $670 to $698 per month to three-bedroom, two-bath units of 1,301 sf priced at $1,010 to $1,056 per month.
In addition to the community's physical configuration, Friedman also instructed his on-site leasing team to market the project heavily, even before construction began last year.
"We have a dedicated leasing team that hit the streets early on in an effort to reach out to the community and show people what we had to offer," Friedman says. "Obviously, we were successful in what some have found to be a difficult market, because we offered a quality product at competitive rents."
"The rapid leaseup we experienced at Vintage Cottage Apartment Homes indicates to us that perhaps the Orlando market is now on the upswing," he adds.
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