Twenty-five years ago, Continental Properties entered the apartment industry with a simple idea: apartment living should feel more like home.
Springs Apartments began in 2001 as Continental’s first multifamily brand, with its earliest communities serving residents in Bradenton, Florida. At the time, Continental was entering a new sector and asking a fundamental question. What could apartment living look like if it were designed around the way people actually wanted to live?
The answer was a suburban rental housing concept that emphasized privacy, direct-entry homes, neighborhood-style design, pet-friendly living, and a resident experience built around more than the physical apartment.
What followed was not simply the replication of an apartment prototype. Springs would be tested through economic cycles, expanded into new markets, adapted to new generations of renters, and continuously refined around changing expectations for how people live.
Over its 25-year history, Springs Apartments development has exceeded 38,000 homes across 138 communities in 22 states. More than 5,000 of those homes are currently under development or construction.
Throughout that evolution, Continental leaders say one principle has remained central: the physical product matters, but it is only part of what makes a community successful.
“There’s no question that the thing that we’re all most proud of is the differentiation that’s created by the people that create and operate Springs Apartments. It isn’t the four walls and the floor and the ceiling. Everyone can provide that in an apartment. It’s our residents' experience that sets Springs apart from its competitors,” said Jim Schloemer, CEO and Co-Founder of Continental Properties.
A concept designed for consistency and adaptable to changing resident needs
From the beginning, Springs was designed with repeatability in mind.
Continental drew lessons from its retail development experience to create a prototypical approach that could be understood by everyone involved, from company leadership and community teams to construction partners, residents, and other stakeholders. That consistency helped Continental learn from each development, establish greater predictability, and eventually scale the Springs concept across the country.
But consistency did not mean standing still.
A defining period came in 2009, when Continental did not put a shovel in the ground on a new community. Instead, the company used the slowdown following the global financial crisis to rethink the Springs product, test smaller community formats, and apply lessons that would eventually help propel the brand into its next period of growth and geographic diversification.
That willingness to listen and adjust continued as Springs matured. Floor plans changed. Exteriors evolved. Clubhouses and amenities responded to new ways residents gathered, worked, exercised, and spent time at home. Technology reshaped everything from apartment searches and tours to communication and service.
At the same time, Continental remained deliberate about not chasing every trend simply because it was new.
“The core principles that define Springs remain the same as when I first encountered the brand, but the experience we deliver has continued to evolve”, said Heather Riggs, Senior Vice President of Multifamily Operations. “We’ve enhanced our homes and floor plans, adapted our amenities to meet changing lifestyles, and embraced technology that has transformed how customers search for a home, lease, communicate with us, and receive service. What I appreciate most about the evolution of Springs is that we’ve continued to innovate and improve without losing sight of what made the brand special from the beginning.”
Scaling a brand meant scaling a culture
As Springs expanded, Continental faced another challenge: how to grow a national footprint without making the resident experience feel impersonal. That effort shaped a service culture that became as closely associated with Springs as its physical design.
One early example was the “Prairie Dog” mentality, the idea that team members should notice people, engage with them, and proactively look for opportunities to help. Over time, that philosophy expanded into a broader culture of resident-focused service, including the Springs 5-Star Standard, Above & Beyond services, resident events, and the Springs Pledge, a formal commitment to proactive service, listening, respect, and resident satisfaction.
Stories collected for the anniversary reflect what that looks like in practice. Team members recalled caring for residents’ pets and plants while they traveled, helping with marriage proposals and resident weddings, visiting residents in the hospital, carrying groceries, changing flat tires, and supporting people through some of the most difficult periods of their lives. After hurricanes and tornadoes, teams from other Springs communities have loaded supplies into trucks and traveled across states to help affected residents and colleagues, sometimes sleeping in vacant apartment homes without electricity or running water while recovery work was underway.
“I think one of the biggest things that has remained constant throughout the evolution of Springs is the genuine care we have for our residents and our team members,” said Breanna Isensee, Resident Relations Manager at Springs at Lakeville. “We are not simply landlords collecting rent or filling vacant homes. We hire team members who truly care about the people who live in our communities and want our residents to feel important and valued.”
That culture has also shaped careers. Team members who began onsite as interns, leasing associates, or Community Managers have moved into leadership positions and roles across Operations, Legal, Human Resources, and other areas of Continental. Riggs herself began as Community Manager at Springs at Asheville before ultimately rising to lead Continental’s multifamily operations.
The result is a 25-year story measured not only by communities developed, but by the residents, careers, relationships, and local communities that grew alongside them.
A proven model in a changing housing market
Springs reaches its 25th anniversary at a consequential moment for rental housing in the United States. While a recent wave of multifamily construction has eased shortages in some markets, housing supply remains uneven across the country, and affordability continues to challenge renters.
Those conditions reinforce the importance of continuing to add housing where it is needed. No single development model can resolve the nation’s housing challenges, but expanding supply and providing renters with a broader range of quality housing choices remain important parts of the solution.
For Continental, Springs has provided a repeatable platform for doing that in suburban markets while continuing to adapt the product to local conditions and residents' needs. Its growth has also depended on long-term relationships with the investors, lenders, municipalities, contractors, and partners that make new communities possible.
“One of our most important relationships has been with our investors. They provide the capital we need to build communities, and some have invested with us since our earliest projects,” said Ed Madell, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “Their continued reinvestment reflects the strong returns we’ve delivered and the consistency of our development approach. Together, those factors have built a track record that brings investors back again and again.”
The next 25 years
The Springs Apartments brand will continue to evolve alongside the people who call it home. The floor plans, finishes, amenities, and services may look different 25 years from now, just as they look different today than they did in 2001.
Continental will stay close to its residents, understand how they live, anticipate how their needs will change, and bring those insights into the homes, communities, and experiences Springs Apartments creates. That connection to the customer has guided the brand for 25 years and will remain central to what comes next.
That commitment extends beyond the resident experience. As Springs Apartments grows, Continental will continue working with municipalities and local partners to add needed housing, support infrastructure and local growth, and contribute meaningfully to the communities it serves.
The product will change over time, but the work behind it will remain deeply human. At the heart of Springs Apartments is the same promise that has defined the brand from the beginning: creating a place that feels like home.
