When David Wolfe launched W3 Lifestyle in December 2009, he had one major goal — help apartment renters find the best place live.

“Our goal is that once a property gets a W3 designation, their renters won’t want to leave,” says Wolfe, who is gay.

With Atlanta being a transient city and people moving here all the time, there was a gap in how newcomers could find a place to live that offers a high quality of life, he explains.

Wolfe and his staff review properties continuously, seeking the best of the best. And he says they don’t hand out their “Best of the Best” designations easily — in the Atlanta market, for example, there are approximately 1,500 apartment complexes, Wolfe says.

W3 Lifestyle seeks the best of the best for apartment renters

“Only 300 of them will be privileged enough to call themselves W3 Lifestyle communities with our Best of The Best designation,” he says.

And Wolfe and his team review the complexes monthly as well — this year W3 Lifestyle revoked 37 of its designations.

As part of its services, W3 Lifestyle also puts on events at complexes, at no cost to the property owners or renters, such as meet and greets, pool parties or movie nights to try to enhance the residents’ lives.

W3 Lifestyle also puts out “minizines” online for each property it has designated. The publications go to the renters and include articles about that particular property as well as articles about health, wellness and a calendar of events.

When Wolfe began W3 last year, he had no intention of moving out of Georgia. Now his company offers the same designation services in cities in Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas.

“We are about supporting the residents,” he says.

And the name W3?

“It originally came from myself, my partner and our daughter,” Wolfe says.

But it’s also about outreach to businesses, assisting properties and renters — three rings that provide a circle of opportunity, Wolfe says.