Apartments may be hotter than ever in Denver, but the apartments themselves are changing. To find out how, we asked architectural firm KTGY director Nathan Sciarra (snapped with wife Jackie Sciarra, who’s also with the KTGY Denver office). Smaller unit sizes allow the units to remain less expensive while the high-end finishes and amenities satisfy today’s renters, who don’t mind a little less space as long as it’s well located. (If it has Wi-Fi, Millennials would live in a refrigerator box.) Gen Y, who have discovered the city core, want to spend more time in the neighborhood, and less in their unit.

Route 40, a KTGY-designed adaptive reuse/new construction project in Capitol Hill developed by Slipstream Properties, exemplifies the trend. The apartments range in size from 400 SF to 500 SF for the studios, and 500 SF to 600 SF for the one-bedrooms, and will include high-end kitchens and bathrooms, larger windows, and refinished original hardwood floors. But they’ve also got walkability going for them: Capitol Hill get a Walk Score of 90 out of 100. (Solid A-minus, that'll get you on the honor roll.) Nathan says the new-construction addition to Route 40, which is currently under permit review, will get underway early summer.