McWhinney’s newest apartment community in Fort Collins will have all the Class A features renters have come to expect, plus a host of amenities revolving around it.
Cycle Apartments will be located alongside the new Foothills Mall, putting shopping, dining and entertainment at residents’ doorstep.
David Jaudes
“We absolutely love what Alberta (Development) has done with the redevelopment of Foothills Mall, with all the restaurants and the new theater. We’re about a block away from public transit. We like the idea that when residents come home, they don’t have to get in their car to enjoy a night out. That was appealing to us when we acquired the site,” said David Jaudes, McWhinney vice president, multifamily.
Cycle Apartments is a 405-unit community that will break ground next month on 10.5 acres along the east and north sides of the mall. There will be 18 three- and four-story buildings linked together through pedestrian-oriented courtyards, each representing different activities. Adjoining each courtyard is a different “social fitness” area, including collaborative, open office space, a swimming pool, clubhouse, physical fitness center, game room, demonstration kitchen, social lounge, golf simulator, bike and ski repair area and more.
“Residents and visitors in the Cycle neighborhood can walk through an open breezeway of each building, through courtyards revealing hubs of activity, or connect with another resident of these well-appointed homes, each with individual balcony and many with attached, tuck under parking,” said Dale Sanders of Johnson Nathan Strohe, which designed the community.
The 409,000-square-foot development will average 37 dwelling units per acre, with 479 parking stalls.
With so many two- and three-bedroom units already in the market, McWhinney is targeting smaller units to provide more affordable effective rents. Approximately 60 percent of the units will be one-bedroom floor plans, while 20 percent each will be studio and two-bedroom apartments.
Although Fort Collins is seeing increased multifamily construction, Jaudes said McWhinney’s other community within the city, Trails at Timberline, “is performing extremely well.”
Absorption of new units, while not quite keeping pace with deliveries, also has been very strong.
“We understand that there is a, perhaps temporary, oversupply in the market, but McWhinney is a long-term owner, and that’s how we approach all of our projects,” Jaudes said, noting the new supply includes a number of student, affordable and senior apartments in Fort Collins.
Cycle Apartments will deliver its first units in mid-2017, with build-out within approximately 22 months.
Units will average 825 square feet, ranging from 590 sf for a studio to 1,119 sf for a two bedroom unit.
Monthly rents are projected to start at $1,200 for a studio, $1,350 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,600 for two bedrooms. Targeted renters include young urban professionals and baby boomers looking to downsize.
The Weitz Co. is the general contractor for Cycle Apartments, and McWhinney Real Estate Services will manage the property.
Sanders said Johnson Nathan Strohe’s design of the apartments “is founded in Fort Collins history, from agriculture to railroads and education, to name a few. With historical cycles comes continual reinvention, changing without losing roots. From harvests to seasons, cycles are enjoyed and awaited. Cycles are not only a part of life, they are an essential process to growth.”
