A model unit at The Julian - Photo by Mollie Lyman.

Downtown Columbus has added hundreds of new apartment units every year for the past several years, and the demand for rental housing shows no sign of slowing. According to a new report released today by the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, the Downtown market has an apartment occupancy rate of 95%.

“I don’t know why, but I was a little surprised that the number was so high,” said Marc Conte, Deputy Director at the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, who gave a presentation this morning on the new report. “I was thinking maybe it would be lower because that number includes the Atlas Building, and they haven’t even moved everyone in yet.”

New apartments completed in 2015 thus far include the 98 new units at The Atlas Building, with over 500 more units currently under construction at 250 High, LC RiverSouth, The Julian, The Citizens Building, the Stoddard Building and more. Conte says that he doesn’t expect those new additions to change the high occupancy rate much.

“It could end up dipping as these new apartments come online, but I don’t see it going under 90% for quite awhile,” he explained. “While it does seem like a lot is under construction right now, they won’t all be coming online at the same time. We expected the LC to be further along at this point, and they’re not.”

According to the report, Downtown Columbus is now home to 7,471 residents in 5,250 housing units. Those numbers have more than doubled since 2002, when Downtown was only home to 2,251 dwellings and less than 3,500 residents.

“I think we’ll hit 10,000 Downtown residents by end of 2018,” proclaimed Conte. “That’s based on the projects under construction and what has been announced.”

The return of interest in urban living has caused a positive economic boost for the region as well. Since 2005, over $1.1 billion in private investment has gone toward the construction and renovation of new places to live and work Downtown.

Related News: Apartment Rental Rates in Columbus Have Grown by 25% Since 2011.

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