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Next-Level Apartment Amenities

By Seattle Mag April 1, 2017

With so many apartment complexes competing for tenants, developers are getting creative when it comes to amenities. “We are absolutely upping our game,” says Amy Williams, regional development manager at Madrona Ridge Residential, the owner of the recently opened Angeline apartment building at the northern edge of Columbia City’s historic downtown. You’ll still find that...

This article originally appeared in the April 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.

With so many apartment complexes competing for tenants, developers are getting creative when it comes to amenities. “We are absolutely upping our game,” says Amy Williams, regional development manager at Madrona Ridge Residential, the owner of the recently opened Angeline apartment building at the northern edge of Columbia City’s historic downtown. You’ll still find that fitness center, but new buildings are also offering things like gardens and demonstration kitchens. “The size of apartments has decreased, so there needs to be more space to ‘live in’ around the community; basically, increasing the footprint of where they live with Wi-Fi cafés, P-Patches, outdoor space and theater rooms,” says Williams. Here’s a closer look at what new residents can expect in a few buildings.


Photograph by Angeline

The Angeline, Columbia City
Address: 4801 Rainier Ave. S
Amenities: Urban community garden and 44 rooftop gardens for residents, pet-washing station, bike room with lounge and bike cages, demonstration kitchen with occasional celebrity chef demos (a winner on The Food Network’s show Chopped was a recent guest)
Completed: August 2015
Number and type of units: 193; studio, 1- and 2-bedroom units
Parking: Available for about $150/month
Rent: $1,500–$3,000


Photograph by J. Mark Griffith

Bowman, Wallingford
Address: 3801 Stone Way N
Amenities: Rooftop chicken coop with live “coop cam” (bowmanchickencam.wirepathdns.com), dog run and dog-washing area, poker room, CrossFit/TRX room
Completed: June 2016
Number and type of units: 278; studio, 1- and 2-bedroom units plus den, some townhomes
Parking: Available for about $130/month
Rent: $1,688–$5,600


Photograph by Michael Walmsley

AMLI, South Lake Union
Address: 1260 Republican St.
Amenities: Cooking lab for brewing craft beer, maker lab for woodworking, solarium, pet spa, rooftop fire pit
Completed: Summer 2014
Number of units: 293 units; studio, 1- and 2-bedroom units
Parking: Available for $175/month
Rent: $1,700–$3,300

 

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