Tenant list filling up for new apartments
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New apartments being built around a downtown parking garage have begun taking applications from prospective tenants.
Progress at The Cole, the $18 million complex at 200 Jackson St., has made gigantic leaps since construction began in October around the garage west of the Bartholomew County Courthouse.
Matt Griffin, development manager for Buckingham Cos., the apartment’s complex developer, said workers recently started hanging drywall and still need to finish the brick exterior before the building opens Jan. 30.
About 80 people have applied for consideration as tenants in the 146-unit complex and some already are approved, he said.
Those people come from various backgrounds, from young professionals to retirees, said Amy Wiser, account director for Buckingham. She said some of the applications are from people who already live in Columbus but want to be a part of the downtown, while others are from people who have been commuting from outside the city.
Wiser said the company has been marketing to no demographic in particular. She said it has counted on The Cole website, rental publications and word of mouth for advertising.
The one- and two-bedroom apartments will rent for $960 to $1,295, depending on style and not including utilities and parking, Wiser said. She said parking alone will cost $150 a month.
Tenants will share a media area with theater seating, an Internet cafe, conference space, self-service coffee bar and a 24-hour fitness center.
Tenants will have guaranteed parking spaces in the 700-space garage that the apartments surround.
The apartment complex includes a total of 165,000 square feet of residential space and 9,200 square feet of retail space, Griffin said.
Cindy Koehler, chief operating officer for Buckingham, said the apartments are being designed in different styles, partly to maximize the view of the downtown and its skyline for tenants.
The three one-bedroom options will have between 808 and 905 square feet and cost between $960 and $1,030 a month. The two two-bedroom options will have between 1,1063 and 1,143 square feet and cost between $1,230 and $1,295 a month.
They each will have hardwood style floors, a washer and dryer, steel appliances and a walk-in closet and private bath for every bedroom, according to the company website. They also each will have an urban view from a private veranda, balcony or walk-out porch, depending on where they are located in the overall building schematic.
Agreements are coming together with tenants hoping to move into The Cole’s retail spaces, said Amy Wiser, account director for Buckingham. She declined to provide details, because none were finalized.
Columbus Downtown Inc., which at the time owned the property around the parking garage, chose Buckingham in 2009 among eight applicants interested in building the apartments. The downtown development company wanted to encourage residential development in downtown, providing space for new downtown workers to live.
Incentives given to Buckingham included the gift of the property and a privately designated tax-increment financing district, which will return to the company some of its own property taxes so it can pay off its loan more quickly.
Buckingham decided to name this building “The Cole” as a playfully shortened version of “Columbus,” company officials said.
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