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Apartments in the
Lumberyard 1505 development have personal balconies. To
learn more or to look at the available apartments, go to
www.moveto1505.com.
Photo by Mark Justesen |
GRAFTON — The Lumberyard 1505 development rising in
downtown Grafton isn’t waiting to open before leasing
out units.
Last week, June
1, marked the opening of about half the Lumberyard’s 77 apartment
units. According to property manager Evan Diece, of Fiduciary Real
Estate Development,30 to 40 percent of the apartments are already
leased, some for June move-in and some for the second half that are
slated to be available July 1.
Lumberyard 1505
apartments range from studio to three-bedroom units, priced from
$950 to $2,000 per month. There is also a one-time $100 fee – per
apartment – at move-in for use of the community space and fitness
center.
The apartments
are fully applianced; kitchens include granite countertops, and
units have other amenities like walk-in closets, balconies and
in-unit washers and dryers. Ria Blake, Lumberyard property
supervisor, said having preleasing, before tenants can even see the
finished apartments, is not uncommon. They look at floor plans, take
hard-hat tours of the building and then they sign.
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Among the amenities for
Lumberyard 1505 renters is a community room with full
kitchen and fireplace. There is a fitness room and a
rooftop patio area attached to the community room.
Photo by Mark Justesen |
Blake said the Lumberyard 1505 was advertised through
signage, Craigslist, Apartment Guide and online, and
people seeking apartments find them. “It’s definitely
the trend right now,” she said of people wanting to
rent. “We had a number of people calling the developer
or the Chamber of Commerce (about leasing).”
Pam King,
Grafton Area Chamber of Commerce executive director, said they have
taken a lot of positive calls from people interested in the
development.
“They like the
walkability of it, it’s downtown, it’s new and modern,” King said.
Mequon recently
had significant apartment development as well, with the Town Center
project, and Cedarburg currently has the Arabelle apartments moving
forward for the former St. Francis Borgia school property.
“There is a high
demand for rentals in this area,” Carolyn Stangl said.
Stangl is
president of the Ozaukee Realtors Association. While she said
Realtors do not market or search for apartments, they do hear things
through the industry and clients.
Stangl said the
two groups she has noticed shifting from own to rent are seniors –
those who want less to take care of or “snowbirds” who don’t need as
much space – and young families, attracted to the community or
school districts in Ozaukee County.
“It’s a
combination of people who want to downsize … and the other is
families who want to move to the area, but aren’t quite ready to
buy,” Stangl said.
Blake said that
in an apartment complex like Lumberyard 1505, the expectation is to
fill out the units within six months of opening. She said their goal
in Grafton is to reach 95-percent occupancy by the end of August.
“We have
everything from college students to seniors and everything in
between,” Blake said of the leases so far.
Lumberyard 1505
is going up in conjunction with the Lumberyard Public Plaza, which
the village is building adjacent to the development. The plaza is
scheduled to be finished within the week, with a public
ribbon-cutting Tuesday evening, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., in the plaza
at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Beech Street.
No news is
available on commercial tenants for the Lumberyard yet; The building
includes about 10,700 square feet of first-floor commercial space.
While Diece said one unit was built specifically as a restaurant,
nothing has been confirmed on businesses for the retail area.
Email:
mboyung@conleynet.com |
