They always say life's better at The Square

Well, that, I am not 100% sure is true. But according to this brand-new apartment community, "life is better at the square." The square they're talking about is Kenyon Square.

Being that it's August, either you are going through it now or you can remember back to those days and be thankful you aren't going through it now...but leases for apartments are expiring during this time. I've been apartment hunting. And there is a shortage of apartments because everyone has already snatched all the good ones up. I wasn't sure if I would be living with female roommates, as I've always done, or live with my boyfriend. Don't worry, we've been together for nearly 5 years (yay to December 15th) and we have been engaged before; but I've decided to go ahead and shack-up already. There will be many blogs ahead that chronicle my boyfriend-girlfriend living situation and what conclusions can be made from that, I assure you. So, my bf and I had to find something last minute.

After browsing through a number of those free Apartment Guide booklets that you can find at the grocery store, I came upon this ad for three new apartment properties to be called Kenyon Square, Alexander Square and Mercer Square. And, I'm not going to lie, I was baited and hooked by their teaser line of: "Reserve your apartment now and get a free laptop!"

Who doesn't want a free laptop?!?! I already have one, but I am in the market for a new one or I was thinking, why not sell it on ebay and make some extra cash?

But something that also lured me was the price tag. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the rents started in the low $600s (for what I assume would be the most basic model of a 1 bedroom). This place seemed to be within our price range.

And what else is super surprising is for that rent quote, you get all of these amenities (not to mention the luxury of it being a new build so you'd be the first to live in it and have all new everything).


The various squares, each in a different part of Columbus and all run by Preferred Living, claim to feature these qualities in all of their apartments:

• Contemporary gourmet kitchens with mahogany stained wood finish cabinetry
• 9-foot ceilings
• Black appliances
• wood-like floors
• balconies with storage rooms attached
• brushed nickel hardware (such as the bathroom sink faucets)
• free wireless internet everywhere
• sound-proof walls
• track lighting
• crown molding
• Berber carpet
• pantry in the kitchen
• spacious closets
• big showers that feature Rain Style Showerheads

Let me just say, my boyfriend and I call these showerheads "Make it Rain" showers.



Hahaahahaahaha. And when we read that on the description, we were SOLD!!! These types are in rich people's houses! Also called "spa showerheads," the water comes out on top of your head as though you're standing in the rain. It's quite refreshing.

The showerheads alone, sold us on these places so I called them up right away to ask about how to go about leasing with them and all the details.

Here's a floorplan for one of the less expensive 2 BD/2BA suites. And below, there's a random 1 BD/1 BA that I picked to display on here.


Wait! There's more. There will be a ginormous clubhouse that has it's own set of amazing amenities:

• heated swimming pool with a waterfall
• a movie theater
• 24-hour gym with personal training available
• lounge with fireplace
• tanning
• The Sky Club (with coffee bar)
• a 24-hour business center
• cabanas
• on-site ATM machine
• outdoor fire pit
  

Kenyon Square is going to be located in the Polaris area. And I just checked on the website, where you can see more pictures of all the amazing things each suite contains, plus all of their floorplans (there are a bunch). The website, though, quotes one of the smaller 2 bed, 2 bath suites as starting around mid $700s. The next 2 BD/2BA model jumps up to the $800s and everything goes up from there. So, I am not really sure where that "low $600s" came from that was advertised. But you can fill out an application online.

Now, when I called, the sales rep told me that Alexander and Mercer Squares will be the first of the communities to be finished and that won't be until early October, I think she said, around the 4th. Kenyon will be the last to be built and it will be done in late October. Seeing as though I have to be out of this (horrid) apartment that I'm currently in by August 31st, my bf and I had to pass, however reluctantly, on these apartments for the simple fact of timing.

If things had worked out according to moi, I would be living in this place, no questions asked. However, I would probably choose to live in one of the other "squares" than Kenyon because I was told by their sales rep that Kenyon would be more expensive and more prestigious because it is meant to be like a hotel or resort-like living. The other two are to be more like standard apartment complexes, though they will feature many of the same amenities in their suites.



Here's a map for Alexander Square. It's scheduled to be in Worthington. Mercer Square is supposed to be in the Dublin area between Sawmill Road and I-270.

For residents of these properties, they can pay their rent online--so convenient--as well as put in a maintenance request there. And on apartmentguide.com there's a coupon for Mercer Square right now! It says: reserve an apartment and get an LCD TV for free. This place is set to be a competitor with other various hotel-style apartment and condo communities around Columbus. A top example would be the Lifestyle Communities, which started-off featuring many of these same living features and customized clubhouses complete with a bar. So Preferred Living's newest venture is sure to keep such communities on their toes.