Three apartment complexes popping up in Denton show signs of the city's booming student population.
As enrollment at the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University grown, so does the need for more housing.
More than 1,200 students will pour into three complexes being built less than a mile apart from each other. The complexes are reserved for students.
"UNT and Texas Woman's University had a reputation in the past of being a commuter schools, and now it's not," said Bryan Curley, property manager for The Retreat.
Competition for tenants among the apartment complexes is fierce.
"It's your job to show these students what makes you stand out amongst the rest," said Taylor Dyson, sales manager at The Grove. "We want to be the new face of Denton as well."
Many of the businesses near campus are wary of the new construction. Business owners said they are afraid the apartments will change the identity of the town they love.
"Five or 10 years from now, that is not where they go," said Mike Sutton, owner of Big Mike's Coffee. "They want the new thing. They want the new toy. They go somewhere else. Now, what do we have? We've got a five-story empty building. What are we going to do with it? Denton is changing so much that we've lost community. We've lost what I thought Denton was."
As the community grows, the struggle will be finding a way for everyone to fit in.
All three of the apartment complexes being built are expected to be complete by the end of the summer, and the units are already filling up.
