Location
As one of two properties in Madison’s First Settlement neighborhood to make our list of Madison’s Top 10 Best Downtown Luxury Rental Communities, NoVo opened their doors in 2021 and have been setting the bar for downtown luxury apartment living ever since.
In Madison, WI, the centrality of your location is generally measured in distance from the State Capitol or the capitol square, measured in either city blocks or walking time. Regardless of which metric you choose – 1 city block, or a 2-minute walk – NoVo has an impressively tiny distance between its front door and Madison’s capitol square.
With Madison staples such as Johnny Delmonico’s, Merchant, and Marigold Kitchen, as well as the likes of Lucille Pizzeria and The Settle Down Tavern literally right across the road on South Pinckney Street, you could contain your restaurant and dining choices to this single city block and be quite a happy camper.
On top of all of those Pinckney Street establishments, traveling in any other direction around NoVo will land you at the Great Dane Brewpub one block to the east, Tempest Oyster Bar a half block south, or DLUX or the BelAir Cantina one block to the west.
Whether you enjoy dining out multiple times each week or plan on exploring the Madison restaurant scene only sporadically, NoVo is the end product of a truly prime piece of Madison real estate.
Common Area Amenities
Inside NoVo, you’ll find a superb slate of amenities to choose from. The lobby features a complementary coffee bar with seasonal selection of coffees, teas, and other beverages. The bulk of the other resident amenities are housed on the 4th floor.
Once on the fourth floor, you’ll find indoor amenity areas which include a club room, billiards lounge, fitness center, and yoga studio.
The main Community Room features a full display kitchen, complete with gas range and oven, making the space an excellent option for hosting private events. While the kitchen is top-notch and some of the lounge seating around the television is quite comfortable, we couldn’t help but notice an almost cafeteria-like quality to the main Community Room space.
A reimagined use of the space might ditch the 4-top tables which currently occupy the bulk of the usable floor space in the room, and instead opt to create two or three more well defined lounge/dining areas.
A larger 8- or 10-person dining table would create a space where meals for a larger group could be comfortably served, and adding one or two couches with a few robust accent chairs could create a secondary lounge space away from the main television screening area. All of this would go a long way towards removing any trace of the dorm study lounge vibe that the current Community Room is unintentionally hinting at.
Interior furnishings aside, we absolutely love the seamless indoor-outdoor flow between the Community Room and the exterior Community Terrace. Out on the terrace, the multiple 4-top patio tables feel much more appropriate, though again, we wouldn’t be mad at a handful of more well-defined lounge spaces by incorporating a larger outdoor sectional around a gas-powered fire pit and some planters or other landscaping elements.
With two gas barbeque grills, the outdoor dining area would make preparing and enjoying outdoor meals with friends and family an absolute delight. The space isn’t huge or overwhelming, but there is certainly room for many NoVo residents and guests to enjoy the terrace without feeling crowded.
The fitness center features a selection of Rogue pull-up bars and bumper plates, making this gym area one of the best in the city we’ve seen for weightlifting enthusiasts. More specifically, CrossFit practitioners will be hard-pressed to find a better set-up anywhere in Madison (though how they have a GHD machine without also having a rowing machine or assault bike might leave those who partake in functional fitness regimens scratching their heads).
As far as cardio machines are concerned, there are three treadmills, three ellipticals, one spin bike, and one recumbent bike. While we always love a good stair climber and wouldn’t be mad at the addition of a rowing machine, their current selection of cardio equipment is neither too many nor too few for the residents of all 161 total apartments at NoVo.
Just outside of the main fitness center, you’ll find the Yoga Studio. Along with providing a ballet barre along the main mirrored wall, there isn’t much else to this space beyond providing a selection of mats, bands, and other stretching accessories.
And to be clear: this simplicity and sparseness is exactly why we like the NoVo Yoga Studio so much. It’s a separate, quieter space for anyone who doesn’t want to be subjected to the rhythmic plodding of feet on a treadmill or the sound of clattering barbells being heavily re-racked.
The other feature of the Yoga Studio that we loved was the outdoor Yoga Terrace. As the practice of yoga is often as mental and spiritual as it is physical, incorporating a private outdoor space where stretching, yoga, or other forms of outdoor fitness can be practiced was a thoughtful touch by the NoVo development team.
Pets Welcome
Adjacent to the Yoga Terrace, you’ll find an outdoor fenced in dog run. NoVo’s location doesn’t place it super close to any parks or outdoor greenspaces, so having this rooftop greenspace as a high-utility amenity in the building is one that dog owners definitely appreciate.
Both dogs and cats are welcome at NoVo, with pet rent starting at $25/month for cats and $45/month for dogs. A maximum of 2 animals are allowed per apartment.
Dogs are subject to a “pet interview”, which is essentially a screening for confirming if your dog is a typically aggressive breed or not, as well as confirming the dog’s age (dogs under a year old require an additional $250 pet deposit). All dogs are required to be listed on the household’s renters insurance policy, something that is often encouraged but not required at other properties.
Additionally worth noting, NoVo does also have a heated pet wash station on site for any residents to groom their pets as needed.
Apartment Interior Finishes
Inside of each apartment, residents will find two different finish packages: one featuring kitchens and bathroom cabinetry in a slightly faded dark walnut, or a combination of darker grey lower cabinets and white upper cabinets.
Both look crisp, with the walnut version slightly edging out the dark grey/white combo for our favorite of the pair.
The vinyl plank flooring is a grey-washed oak, which is just warm enough to not be fully monochrome. Each apartment features a darker blue-grey accent wall as well – we typically aren’t huge fans of pre-painted accent walls, but these color choice NoVo’s designers went with actually looks quite nice in person.
A grey-white subway tile backsplash was also featured in the units we looked at, which added some welcome texture and depth to the kitchen area. While not standard in every apartment, some units do feature a gas range in the kitchen. That being said, front-loading washers and dryers do come standard in each and every unit at NoVo.
The mid-sized white subway tiles in the bathroom which were used for the shower surround help to elevate NoVo’s apartment bathrooms over those of its Downtown Madison competitors. On average, we were pleasantly surprised with how much storage space the bathrooms provided.
The views from some apartments can border on the spectacular, especially from higher floors which glimpse Lake Monona. The other views looking towards different sections of downtown aren’t quite as nice as those select few that maintain a direct line of sight to the lake, but higher floors seem to have much higher quality views on average compared to those lower down in the property.
There is also a huge diversity of outdoor apartment balconies available to choose from – some of them are downright massive, but all of them are more than large enough to be routinely utilized.
For detailed walkthroughs of a majority of NoVo’s different floorplans, the Stonehouse Development YouTube channel is definitely worth checking out. A playlist with NoVo-specific videos is linked here.
Utilities and Internet
Water, sewer, trash, and recycling are all included in the base monthly rent for NoVo residents, meaning their monthly utility bills only include electricity and natural gas usage.
High-speed internet is available in every apartment, making each unit capable of handling gigabyte speeds to meet even the most bandwidth-heavy residents. Prices start around $40/month, and are based on your selected internet speed.
Pricing
Disclaimer: exact apartment pricing is subject to a number of factors, and can change weekly or daily. As such, we always like to preface this section by reminding you that any specific pricing mentioned in this article was pulled as of the date the article was written. While we do periodically update the prices to reflect the current market rates, you should always go directly to the property’s website for the most up-to-date pricing and availability information.
NoVo offers Studios, Alcoves, 1-Bedroom, and 2-Bedroom apartments.
- Studio ($1,305 – $1,475/mo)
- Alcove ($1,220 – $1,495/mo)
- 1-Bedroom ($2,005 – $2,350/mo)
- 1-Bedroom + Den ($2,975/mo)
- 2-Bedrooms ($2,700 – $3,650/mo)
Price vs Square Footage
The average 1-bedroom floorplan at Novo is going to be on the more expensive end of the spectrum for compared to other 1-bedroom options at different properties around the city. The amount of space you get for this price point also isn’t anything to write home about either, with sizes ranging from 610 to 773 sqft.
Below is an example of their smaller 610 sqft Peach 1-bedroom floorplan, currently marketed at $2,040/month for #907.
As a general rule, the worst value is going to be found with apartments that are smaller for their unit type. If we look at this Peach 1-bedroom example above, and divide it’s current monthly rent ($2,040) by it’s square footage (610), we get a price per square foot of $3.34/sqft.
If we compare this to their larger 773sqft Xanthic 1-bedroom floorplan (#1203, currently priced at $2,335/month), we end up with a value of $3.02/sqft, significantly lower than the smaller Peach 1-bedroom.
What this means is that, generally speaking, you’ll be getting the best value for each dollar of rent you pay by opting for an apartment with the lowest price per square foot.
2-Bedroom Value Comparison
Let’s take a look at a few 2-bedroom options at NoVo to see this rule in action:
NoVo’s #1110 Aqua 2-bedroom floorplan gives you 895sqft for $3,200/month, giving us a $3.58/sqft value. It’s not a bad layout overall, but at 895sqft, it is rather small, especially in the kitchen and living room area.
While you do get comfortably sized bedrooms and a larger-than-average walk-out balcony, there is only one exposure for natural light to enter the apartment (and exactly zero windows in the second bedroom). Regardless of which direction these windows are facing, our educated guess is that this apartment would be noticeably cave-like.
Now lets look at NoVo’s Lilac 2-bedroom floorplan (below). #900 gives you substantially more room at 1,041sqft, and is priced only $70/month more than the Aqua floorplan above, giving us a much lower $3.14/sqft value.
This 2-bedroom is larger in nearly every way – the living room and kitchen are expanded, and both bedrooms are also noticeably more sizeable than their Aqua 2-bedroom counterparts.
You do lose a bathroom with a tub (Lilac has two showers and zero tubs), as well as some space on the attached outdoor balcony, but with the Lilac floorplan being a corner unit, you also get infinitely more natural light, including windows and natural light in both bedrooms.
Here’s the upshot: more than most, NoVo has an inexplicably wide range in the value you are getting for any given apartment. Every indication here says that you should absolutely stick with the floorplans at NoVo which have the lowest price per square foot value, as we cannot see any reason why, on paper, you should select their smallest 1-bedroom or smallest 2-bedroom options.
Penthouse 2-Bedroom Options
One other side note: the largest penthouse-style 2-bedroom options at NoVo are some of our favorites in all of Downtown Madison. Here’s an example of their 1,252sqft Honey 2-bedroom floorplan:
Just look at that oversized walk-out terrace. Walk-in closets in both bedrooms, plenty of space in the living room for a dining table in addition to the oversized kitchen island… we love it all. Take a look at the full video walk-through to see the full apartment in all it’s splendor:
Who Should Live Here
Based on everything we’ve researched about NoVo, here are a few different types of renters who we feel would be most likely to want to rent here:
Foodies and Epicurious Explorers
Even with the huge supply of incredible establishments around downtown Madison, the density of incredible restaurants along South Pinckney Street is truly something special. For our money, there isn’t a luxury apartment community anywhere in Madison which has a more immediate supply of delicious food and drink menus to choose from.
CrossFitters and Functional Fitness Enthusiasts
NoVo’s 24-hour fitness center is a veritable CrossFit paradise. Pull-up racks, barbells, bumper plates, dumbbells, medicine balls, and a GHD machine will give you nearly all the tools you’d need to get an amazing workout of the day in. NoVo went with nearly all Rogue equipment too, so you’re getting some of the best functional fitness equipment that money can buy.
Yoga Practitioners
We said it before, and we’ll say it again: we love the separate yoga studio and outdoor yoga terrace that NoVo offers its residents. We can’t think of a better private place to go through a yoga flow while also enjoying Madison’s incredible summer weather than the NoVo yoga terrace.
Luxury Downtown Madison Penthouse Seekers
If you see one of NoVo’s handful of larger 2-bedroom penthouse options on the 13th floor hit the market, you’ll want to make your rental decision quickly, since that penthouse unit likely won’t be available for very long. There simply aren’t many penthouse options in Downtown Madison which offer apartments with as much space – especially private outdoor space – as those found at NoVo.
