Downtown Columbus is closing in on 8,000 residents, and is on track to hit 10,000 by 2018. So apartment buildings continue to rise to meet the demand in the heart of the city. Yet even with all this new construction, and rents north of $1,500 a month, the Downtown apartment occupancy rate is 97 percent, according to a mid-year "State of Downtown Columbus" report released today by the Capital Crossroads and Discovery special-improvement districts.

Downtown Columbus is closing in on 8,000 residents, and is on track to hit 10,000 by 2018.

So apartment buildings continue to rise to meet the demand in the heart of the city. Yet even with all this new construction, and rents north of $1,500 a month, the Downtown apartment occupancy rate is 97 percent, according to a mid-year �State of Downtown Columbus� report released today by the Capital Crossroads and Discovery special-improvement districts.

�I do think Downtown is in a strong position now,� said Rob Vogt, principal of Vogt Strategic Insights, a Columbus real-estate market research company. �It�s following many of the trends we are seeing nationally.�

Those trends include more people moving to Downtown areas to live, especially Millennials, who want to live close to work, to restaurants and bars, to parks, to fun. According to the Capital Crossroads report, 44 percent of Downtown residents are 20 to 34 years old.

The demand continues to grow for Downtown housing. Of the 28 projects under construction in the Downtown area, including one just across the river in Franklinton, about a third of them are residential projects.

People are willing to pay for it, too. According to the report, the average monthly rent of a high-end, one-bedroom apartment Downtown is $1,542; a two-bedroom apartment goes for $2,200.

Amy Schmittauer, president of the Downtown Residents Association of Columbus, said her group wants to see a wider demographic of residents, not just those who can afford the high rents.

Columbus isn�t the only Ohio city where Downtown living is becoming more popular. Downtown Cincinnati now has close to 16,000 residents. Cleveland, an estimated 14,000.

�Downtown Cleveland was in a spotlight last week with the (Republican) convention," Vogt said. "Downtown Columbus is certainly in the same boat, a desirable place to call home and where to live."

Marc Conte, Capital Crossroads� deputy director of research, said he is not surprised by the high occupancy rate for apartments Downtown. He said that 18 months ago it was 95 percent.

That�s why rents are so high, he said. �We can�t get supply on quickly enough.�

High-profile projects include Arshot Investment Corp.�s 25-story Millennial Tower, due in late 2018. The office, retail and residential development will be built at the southwest corner of Front and Rich streets.

Another is the Day Companies� project on the east side of North High Street between Gay and Long streets. That will include three buildings with more than 100,000 square feet for residences and retail.

The company�s Ricky Day said he hopes to finish renovations by the end of 2017. He believes the Downtown residential market will be more competitive, and developers will have to step up with health facilities, pools and other amenities.

Developer Brad DeHays, who is redeveloping the old Municipal Power Plant near Downtown into offices and an auction house, and who developed 51 micro-apartments at 260 S. Fourth Street, said companies are competing for Millennials, and attractions such as the Scioto Greenways park along the Scioto River help.

�We�re starting to see the value of that," DeHays said.

The office vacancy rate Downtown is 11.4 percent, the report said, although Vogt and DeHays said it is more in the range of 16 percent to 19 percent.

To read the report, go to: http://downtowncolumbus.com/home/doing-business/development-reports/

mferenchik@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik