Vintage Apartments in Madison? (Milwaukee, Monroe: hardwood floors, for rent, houses)

[sandwiche]

I recently moved to Milwaukee but am considering a move to Madison next year. I prefer living in vintage apartments with hardwood floors, but I've noticed that the brunt of Madison's population growth has occurred in the past fifty years. Are there few older apartment buildings and mostly new-ish construction?

[amysherman]

You'll need to look on the near west and east sides, which means you might be rubbing elbows with students. But you can find some beautiful older apartments. Look near Regent Street, Monroe Street, Williamson Street, and the Atwood area.
It will take a little work to find something older that isn't student housing, but it certainly is out there.
Good luck!

[badger74]

There are some around the Capitol too.

[Drover]

The issue with vintage apartments in Madison is that, by coincidence of their location, a good swath if not nearly all of them are occupied by students.

[MassVt]

I think that this would be one of those deals in which the OP would have to actually visit Madison and physically walk/drive up and down the city streets looking for "For Rent" signs on the front lawn. The city itself has a decent amount, but many are indeed in student neighborhoods, so you'd have to have a high tolerance for noise ( which I don't). Otherwise, much of the West Side beyond the campus has more modern apt complexes, but some might have hardwood floors--the exteriors might fool you..

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by MassVt

I think that this would be one of those deals in which the OP would have to actually visit Madison and physically walk/drive up and down the city streets looking for "For Rent" signs on the front lawn. The city itself has a decent amount, but many are indeed in student neighborhoods, so you'd have to have a high tolerance for noise ( which I don't). Otherwise, much of the West Side beyond the campus has more modern apt complexes, but some might have hardwood floors--the exteriors might fool you..

This is great advice. You may also wish to check out the Hilldale area just west of campus. It's far enough out that there are not very many students, and the housing stock is still oldish. Just find Kendall Ave and drive it west to Midvale Blvd. There are a lot of smaller apartment buildings in this area, and you'll likely find many with wood floors. I lived in the area for five years in a building built in the 1930's and it was very quiet and "vintage."

[Moving_South]

The Williamson Street neighborhood (you'll actually be looking on Jenifer Street or Spaight Street more likely) has several older apartments with hardwood floors that are either 1st or 2nd floors of older houses. Arguably the "coolest" neighborhood in Madison, too