"If you live in student housing, you are essentially spending four years living at the Ritz Carlton," Mike Procopio, CEO of The Procopio Companies, tells GlobeSt.com. High-end student housing is overflowing with amenities, and students aren't willing to give them up upon graduation. Procopio has found incredible success in the multifamily market by looking at student housing as inspiration for apartment communities that serve high-earning young professionals.

"Students live in unbelievable places with water slides, a lazy river, amenities at their fingertips and concierge service," he adds. "Suddenly, you get out of college and have to move into a three-story walk up? Students are really unhappy with that lifestyle. As a strategy, we are taking our cues from student housing."

The firm's development strategy incorporates high-end amenities into accessible apartment communities. "One of mandates is to take those super high-end amenities and bring them down into workforce housing in secondary and tertiary cities. There we can deliver super high-end properties at a much more price-conscious budget," says Procopio. "We have created an urban-type lifestyle out in the suburbs, and that has worked really well for us."