Local apartment complexes upgrade rooms, amenities

DN PHOTO JORDAN HUFFER
DN PHOTO JORDAN HUFFER

Two local apartment complexes are upgrading their rooms and other common areas, months after the opening of the Village Promenade.

Both University Estates on Bethel Avenue and Beacon Hill on New York Avenue are being upgraded, however, both apartment complex managers said it’s not because of more competition.

Rachel Strange, University Estates manager, said the complex is undergoing a one million dollar update due to a change in management in October 2013. The Village Promenade wasn’t a concern or a reason for the update, she said. 

“They’re sort of a different market than we are,” Strange said. “Their students, their prices and their floor plans are a lot different than ours, so they’re sort of a competitor, yet not.”

The Village Promenade is located closer to the university and typically costs more than University Estates. The complex also has more room types, including one, two, three and four-person options.

As part of the updates to University Estates, the clubhouse and the rooms in all but two buildings will be upgraded. In the rooms, they are adding new flooring, furniture and stainless steel appliances. In the clubhouse, management is installing a coffee bar, a fireplace and new furniture among other amenities.

Alex DeSanti, a sophomore environmental management manager, lives in University Estates and said the front office needed the improvements. Still, she never considered the Village Promenade because of expenses.

Strange said there are no plans to upgrade the remaining two buildings.

“A lot of students prefer not to use our furniture but to bring their own furniture, and so we are just leaving those to be un-upgraded so that people can bring their own furniture,” Strange said. “Plus they are about five dollars cheaper so if anyone is really looking for the price point they’ll be able to save a little bit of money with those.”

Beacon Hill is also being updated due to a management change. Andrea Justice, community manager for Beacon Hill, said they are remodeling the kitchens and bathrooms of some of the apartments.

The upgrades will take three to five years to fully complete, because the turnover season is so short, she said. 

“If somebody moves out early or if we have an opportunity during the summer, things like that, we’re going in and remodeling it,” Justice said. “We’re doing a couple of units now and then it’s as we can get them done from there.”

Along with the apartment upgrades, the change of Beacon Hill’s management brought a new advertising strategy. In past years, the complex has not done any advertising at all, but the new owners decided it was necessary.

Justice said that she was happy with the change, especially with the increased competition in the area.

Advertising was the only area she noticed that was impacted by the Village Promenade. Still, she said the two apartment complexes are very different.

“They’re in their own market because of their prices,” Justice said. “It’s just a completely different market than anybody else here.”

The Village Promenade was unable to comment by press time. 

Property Manager for Windermere Apartments Michael Brown said the Village Promenade has created more competition for his company. His company is working on advertising to help them stand out against the Promenade, but Brown said the layout and space in his complex’s rooms speak for themselves. 

Windermere Apartments also recently upgraded its computer rooms.

“Anytime someone comes new on the market, definitely it’s competition,” Brown said. “[We’re making] more marketing efforts, we are working on upgrading those amenities and … little stuff like that, but definitely more of a marketing push.”

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