High-Rise vs Mid-Rise vs Garden Style Apartments

One of my favorite old garden style apartments. Right in midtown, the Isabella Court Apartments is a beautiful example of classic beauty in historic Houston architecture.

7/6/21

There are a few different styles of apartment construction out there and it helps to know what you’re looking for. I get occasional questions like, “Are there are high rises in West Creek?” or “How come the building only has 5 stories” The answers to these questions lie in the location of these properties, and there are advantages to each type of building.

-A High-rise luxury apartment is going to be greater that 12 stories tall, of course has an elevator. These can be made of poured in place concrete or are made of heavy gauge steel framing. These types of construction are often far more quiet than the stick-built mid-rise. Also there is kind of a general attention to details with these taller buildings because the structures are so expensive to construct.

-A Mid-rise is between 5 and 12 stories tall, and has an elevator. This kind of building is so popular where there begins to be a demand for a view, and rooftop pools are a favored amenity in mid-rise apartment communities.

-A Garden style apartment is In a nutshell, a low-rise apartment complex with abundant green spaces for residents to use. A garden-apartment community generally has several low-rise buildings that are spread out across the property, these often have only a freight elevator.

Any of these types of apartment buildings can have plenty of luxuries and amenities. The type of construction is based on the premium for space in the area. Where land is more expensive and population density is higher, you will see taller and taller buildings. This is why you don’t see high rises in Katy or West Creek, and why you don’t see garden style apartments downtown, and if you do, they are older buildings. In places that have some density, but aren’t necessarily downtown, you will see more mid-rise builds. We see a lot of mid-rise in uptown Houston, mid-town Houston, the Heights, and Montrose in Houston. In Austin mid-rise apartments are very popular in South Congress, Riverside, the Triangle, and the Eastside.

The big difference that I see with mid-rise and high-rise vs garden style is the parking and security situation. A lot of people really like pulling into a secure garage, and entering directly from the garage to the building through a locked door. The elements really come into play here as well, if it’s raining and you live in a garden style apartment, you might get wet :-)

The trade off is that for green spaces and quieter corridors, the garden style apartment really can’t be beat. Garden-style apartments are very popular with dog owners, but many mid-rises and high-rises have committed grassy areas as well.

A lot of people associate luxury with high-rise and mid-rise apartment complexes only. But today’s market sees granite countertops, custom cabinets, wood flooring, tile backsplashes, stainless steel appliances and more in all types of construction. Furthermore, poolside amenities, swimming pools with fountains and spas, and state of the art fitness centers are becoming more popular all the time as renters demand more amenities and nicer and nicer properties are being built. So a lot of renters who once were very concerned with mid-rise versus high-rise now opt for modern housing, in any form.

One way you can ensure you are shown newer properties is by letting your locator know you are interested in more modern housing, a good locator can tell you when a property was constructed or renovated and can pass that information to you or search specifically within your parameters.

Whatever construction you end up with, we hope you love where you live and love the life you’re living there. If you are not, we are here to find the perfect place for you.

-Jen