If selling a home in Metro Detroit is one helluva a tough task right now, renting one is at the opposite end of the toughness spectrum.
That's what officials at Royal Oak-based Urbane Apartments are discovering. The company has been buying, renovating and leasing apartment buildings in Royal Oak, Berkley, Clawson and Ferndale for the last couple of years with great success.
"Since 2003, we have invested $6 million, transforming dilapidated apartment buildings into hip, modern rental communities in Metro Detroit," says Eric Brown, the principal owner of Urbane Apartments. "We're extremely excited about the opportunities that continually present themselves to us."
The firm expects to finish work on its latest project, Urbane on Catalpa, in downtown Berkley later this winter when the weather breaks.
"We just need to do some finishing touches on the building," says Diane Sawinski, director of marketing & leasing for Urbane Apartments.
The 1970s-era apartment building is on Catalpa Road and features 16 loft-style apartments with free high-speed wireless Internet. Each unit has modern design features such as hardwood floors, top-hung rolling doors, black appliances, granite counter tops, glass French balconies, home office nooks and dual rain heads in the bathrooms.
Urbane Apartments invested about $500,000 into interior and exterior renovations of the Catalpa building and is now 75 percent leased, commanding rents as high as $1,200 a month.
The company owns and operates six buildings and is renovating four more and ready to close on yet another in downtown Ferndale. While renovating the apartments, the firm tries to maintain the historical integrity of the buildings to keep its character intact.
For information on Urbane Apartments offerings, call (248) 988-7125.
Source: Diane Sawinski, director of marketing & leasing for Urbane Apartments
Writer: Jon Zemke
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