Eight years in the works, these luxury apartments open now for lease in downtown Columbus

An almost eight-year long development project in Uptown Columbus neared completion as W.C. Bradley Co. Real Estate opened its new residential complex The Currents at Riverfront Place.

The Currents, a luxury apartment building with 226 units on Front Avenue, is the third phase of the ongoing four-phase development project called Riverfront Place, Pace Halter, president and COO of W.C. Bradley, told the Ledger-Enquirer.

Riverfront Place is a multi-use development and the largest real estate undertaking in Columbus’ history, according to the company’s own news release.

“There’s been so much energy in Columbus,” Mayor Skip Henderson told the Ledger-Enquirer. “I mean, even through the pandemic, we saw three or four hotels opening up. And now we see this incredible culmination of eight years of work.”

Mathews D. Swift Park and The Rapids at Riverfront Place, another residential complex across the street from The Currents, were part of phase one. They were followed by Hotel Indigo in phase two.

After the Currents, the Riverfront development’s last phase, an office building that will house the Columbus-based bank Synovus , is expected to be completed later this year, Halter said.

W.C. Bradley’s hope with the Riverfront Place development was to deliver a product that felt like a big city, he said. When residents walk down Front Avenue, Halter hopes the area feels different than the rest of Columbus, he said.

“Columbus is the second largest city in the state,” Halter said. “Obviously, when you’re in a state that includes Atlanta, it can be a distant second. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t look, feel and act like a big city.”

Inside The Currents

The Currents has units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments, and is the first time W.C. Bradley has been able to offer a three-bedroom unit in the Uptown Area, Halter said during the May 1 ribbon cutting ceremony.

Residents have views of the Chattahoochee River, Mathews D. Swift Park and Hotel Indigo.

“There are the standard amenities — club rooms and a swimming pool,” Halter said. “But we’ve added a couple of really fun special features.”

Those amenities include a pet spa, dedicated bike storage and maintenance shop and a putting green. Residents can enjoy games including ping pong and foosball, a fire pit and other activities in the building’s courtyard.

Monthly rents ranged from $1,350 for a studio to $2,650 for a two-bedroom as of May 1, according to the website .

A high-end housing development like this is going to appeal to certain individuals, Henderson told the L-E, but the city remains committed to looking for ways to enhance and grow Columbus’ workforce housing. Previous projects in the city, like Elliott’s Walk, showed how this type of affordable housing could be done.

“We’ve got a group together focusing on that,” he said. “It’s a big part of what our office wants to see happen here.”

From a private development perspective, Henderson said, W.C. Bradley has done their homework to ensure there is a big enough market for luxury apartments like The Currents.

Henderson and Halter both believe Riverfront Place will encourage further growth and development in Columbus.

Some of this is already happening, Halter said, with developments like Midcity Yards and Highside Market opening up. While W.C. Bradley likes the idea of being the first, he said, they do not expect to do it alone.

“We are getting additional traction,” Halter said. “Which frankly, at the end of the day, drives the growth for the entire city.”