SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Hunting for an apartment in Syracuse can be time consuming.
"In downtown Syracuse, we have a 99 percent occupancy rate," said Downtown Committee of Syracuse Executive Director Merike Treier. "Pretty much as fast as developers can build apartments, they're filled. Oftentimes there's waiting lists for people to be able to move into these spaces."
More spaces are on the way. The Icon Tower Luxury Apartments on South Warren Street will open up to renters in February with 89 units. Over on Herald Place, 27 units are expected to be available in March at Herald Commons.
"It was the original Post Standard building back in 1922 when it was built. The printing presses used to go up three stories," said Herald Commons VP of Operations Chris Hornstein.
Treier says in the past 10 years, there's been a 43 percent increase in the downtown population.
“It's a national trend with people moving back into downtown locations. There's the convenience of it,” said Treier.
Treier says rents downtown range from about $1,200 on the lower end to $2,700 a month.
The Zumper National Rent Report finds the median price across Syracuse to rent a one-bedroom space is about $800. Rent prices have also gone up about 14 percent over the last year.
"It's all relative to maybe where you're from originally, so oftentimes when people are living in downtown Syracuse, it's very much attributed to the lifestyle that downtown offers," said Treier.
She says there are 200 apartments under construction downtown.
Apartment rents for Herald Commons will range from about $1,600-2,100. They're about 1,000 to 1,200 square feet.