Rising tide or sinking ships?

Twenty years ago we had a huge increase in the number of new apartments built. Most were in the outlying areas like Kent, Federal Way, Montlake Terrace, etc. Now they are all showing up on Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, Interbay, and West Seattle. The last surge of new construction of apartments in the 1980’s delivered huge projects in the outlying areas and small (20-30 unit) projects in the urban core. Now the huge projects are showing up in the urban core.

What is going to happen to the existing “old” stock of apartments? Will they still be appealing when compared to new product with free wi-fi, in unit washers & dryers, community rooms. Did theses close-in properties survive and/or thrive simply because they are close-in and how will they compete with the new product designed towards the next generation? Will size even matter to the Gen Y group or will they trade that for conveniences like living over a grocery store and coffee shop?
Somehow this feels similar to the 1980’s but a lot different too. As usual, only time will tell.