Portofino Apartments to open on West 34th Street in July | Lubbock Online

Granite countertops and stainless steel appliances have been installed in the first Portofino Apartments on 34th Street, just west of Milwaukee Avenue, before the grand opening July 19. 

Sara Fierro, director of operations for Asken Properties, said five buildings are scheduled to open for residents to begin moving in July 15. The clubhouse, a 3,500-square-foot building, will also be ready for the office staff to move in by that time.

Up to and through the grand opening event, those who sign a lease at Portofino will be given a free iPad Mini, Fierro said. Door prizes will also be given out during the grand opening event July 19 in the Portofino clubhouse.

In December, she hopes 210 apartments will be ready for rental.

“We’re opening up five buildings July 15, which is about 35 apartments. But every two weeks after that, we’ll keep opening up another couple of buildings,” Fierro said.

Units in Portofino won’t be the cheapest in town, Fierro said, but she believes they are competitively priced.

“I really think we offer, if I may say so myself, the best product in town,” Fierro said. “We really want to attract renters who are looking for a really nice place to live, with all of the bells and whistles.”

Those bells and whistles include keyless entry, private garages, granite countertops in bathrooms and kitchens and stainless steel appliances.

Additionally, the clubhouse will have a tanning bed, a health club, an activity center with a billiards table, a room for classes like yoga and a kitchen that may be used for cooking classes. The clubhouse will be available to residents for parties. A pool outside the clubhouse will have an outdoor kitchen nearby.

“We’re going to have all the amenities in the clubhouse that you would expect at a resort,” Fierro said.

Property manager Kerri Koeniz said with concierge service available to the residents for dog walking, dry cleaning and other errands, the customer service at Portofino will set it apart from other apartments in Lubbock.

“Portofino is going to be something Lubbock has never seen before,” Koeniz said. “We’re going to make it more like a resort.”

Fierro said with the Portofino Apartments being constructed on the old Elm Grove Golf Course, there were some old-growth trees still on the property. Where recent drought hadn’t caused those trees to die, they were salvaged, mostly in the area of a park planned to be created on the west side of the property.

“There will be a playa lake out there eventually,” Fierro said, adding she expects renters who enjoy being outside would enjoy living at Portofino.

Upscale apartments like those at Portofino are available to provide options to renters who want a dwelling that feels like a home without having to commit to a mortgage or upkeep, Fierro said.

“We’ll take care of that for you, without you having to make that commitment,” she said.

Asken Properties chose to build on the old golf course because of its proximity to many of the new businesses in the area.

“Milwaukee is hot right now. That’s where all the new restaurants, all the new retail are going in right now,” Fierro said. “This is where people are going to be shopping; this is where they’re going to want to be.”

karen.michael@lubbockonline.com

• 766-8726

Follow Karen on Twitter

@KarenInFrenship