Micro-apartments: Why Are They Sprouting All Over Midwest, Too?

The rise of micro-apartments has become a phenomenon emerging in the busy metros of California and New York. These are becoming a huge trend in expensive cities like San Francisco and New York.

But how about in the Midwest, like in Iowa? Bloomberg has spotted a fascinating structure in downtown Des Moines and this structure particularly looks like, yes, a micro-apartment complex. And guess what, there's some more of these in this part of the country!

Patrick Clark (Bloomberg) reports that the building is originally a 1907 building created by none other than Daniel Burnham, the famous Chicago architect. And now, it is a micro-apartment complex with some luxury amenities i.e. a yoga studio, cinema room, etc... Hubbel Apartment Living, the company that owns the complex, confirms that the micro units in this building named Cityville (on 9th development) are fully leased. Talking about the demand on these micro-apartments...

So what's the logic behind these micro-apartments being erected in the Midwest?

Well, aside from the reported sharp increase of people inclined to downtown living (even in the less-expensive cities), realtors have something more in mind. Bloomberg interviewed Alexander Grgurich, a development analyst at Nelson Construction & Development and the contractor of Hubbel Apartment Living's Citville. Grgurich highlighted their point, "For us, it's about getting a higher price per square foot while offering a lower absolute rent to the renter."

Does that make sense? Let's see.

According to Clark (Bloomberg), Urban Land Institute (ULI) backs Grgurich's point on this. ULI researchers found that units smaller than 600 square feet rented for $2.65 per square foot - 54 percent more than apartments between 600 and 1,000 square feet and 81 percent more than apartments larger than 1,000 square feet.

So, primarily that is the reason why companies are on the prowl now to building micro-apartments. Secondly, is the mass downtown living fad happening nowadays among millennials. Also, Lifeedited.com, pointed out some other factors like most Americans now prefer car-less lifestyle, smaller spaces and cheaper rents unlike before.

There are a couple of sightings of these innovative structures in areas like Columbus, Omaha and Kalamazoo in Michigan, and probably more. Currently, Seattle has about 3,000, probably the largest market.