The Philadelphia suburbs, previously synonymous with homes of the white-picket-fence variety, are seeing an unprecedented influx of upscale apartment developments, writes Caitlin McCabe for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Places like Phoenixville, King of Prussia, and Lower Merion are seeing the number of apartments grow not just in the hundreds, but in the thousands.

The new apartments go from $1,000 a month for a studio to close to $3,000 for multi-bedroom units.

They are being created in direct response to the increasing demand from people looking to take advantage of things an urban center can’t offer, such as cheaper taxes, better schools, and more square feet per dollar.

Among the areas seeing this increase in gentrification is Phoenixville, which, over the next few years, is set to gain around 2,000 new mid-tier and luxury units, with hundreds already finished and occupied.

King of Prussia also has more than 2,000 units in the works, while Lower Merion and West Chester have more than 2,500 combined luxury and midrange units in the pipeline.

However, this has caused rents to rise in nearby apartments as well. In Phoenixville alone, apartment rents have risen 4.7 percent over the last year, raising concerns with affordable-housing advocates who feel other residents could get priced out of the market.

Read more about the upscale apartment boom in the Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.