Why are so many apartments under construction in Conshohocken and other suburbs? Yesterday, BisNow held a forum at the recently completed Seven Tower Bridge office building in Conshohocken and the topic was discussed.
From an article on BisNow about the discussion on apartments in the suburbs:
A “perfect storm” of tenant demand and a favorable financing environment has created unprecedented conditions for developers to maximize the value of Class-A apartment buildings in the suburbs, especially ones that delivered during the coronavirus pandemic, BET Investments principal Michael Markman said at Bisnow’s Philadelphia Future of the Suburbs event Oct. 27.
BET Investments brought two apartment buildings online during the pandemic, one in Upper Dublin that opened in October and the second in Horsham that opened in January, Markman said. The 659 units between the two projects leased at a rate of roughly 60 units per month, far outstripping the pace of leasing at two other apartment complexes in Media that came online in the years leading up to the pandemic.
“In my entire career, I’ve never seen such an intense rental period,” Markman said.
Who is moving into these apartments? Two groups were highlighted during the forum. Empty nesters who are downsizing and younger couples moving out of Philadelphia who are unable to buy a home or have no desire to own one.
Apartment developers are also bullish on the future of apartments due to the number of young people living at home. This increased during the pandemic to 23%, up from 20% in 2010. The 3% represents a potential for 2.1 million new households.
As MoreThanTheCurve.com has reported, there are two apartment communities under construction in Conshohocken, a third about to break ground, and a fourth preparing to seek approval.
Just above the Matsonford Bridge is the 304 unit The Birch at 51 Washington. Adjacent to The Birch is the 276 unit Mattison Mill community. Both of these will be between the railroad tracks and the Schuylkill River. Mattison Mill is expected to be completed in June of 2022. The Birch is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022.
Earlier this week, Equus announced that the 348 unit, 400 West Elm community is set to break ground and is projected to be completed in the in fall of 2023.
On the other side of the bridge, and straddling the Conshohocken and Whitemarsh border, KRE Acquistions has begun the process of seeking approval for the Whitemarsh portion. All together the community would be 598 units.
In Plymouth Meeting, Plymouth Township’s zoning hearing board recently rejected an application for a special exception to construct a 503 unit apartment building at the Plymouth Meeting Mall. Keystone Property Group also seeks to bring apartments to the mall. It wants to convert an exisiting office building it owns adjacent to the mall into apartments. While Keystone made an informal presentation on its proposal before Plymouth Township’s council, it has not yet been on a agenda for approval.
You can read the full BisNow article here.