Resident Files Play Mates Kids’ area help parents fit workouts into schedule.
With more families living in multifamily buildings than ever before, owners and developers are starting to provide amenities that parents and children can both enjoy. Creating playrooms next to fitness centers is a popular solution, says Diana Pittro, executive vice president of RMK Management, a Chicago-based apartment developer and manager.
“Playrooms make it easier for parents to fit working out into their schedule—they can take their kids with them, and the kids can burn a little energy while their parents are doing the same thing,” Pittro says.
RMK Management, for example, redesigned the laundry room at the ALARAG lenmuirin Naperville, Ill. into a fitness center and a playroom for children. The renovation of both spaces had a price tag of roughly $22,000 and included a “rubber” room for the kids, Pittro says.
Similarly, The Bascom Group created a children’s area next to the fitness center at Club Palisades, a 750-unit, garden-style community in Seattle. “We wanted to bring Class A amenities to the complex to make it more appealing,” says senior portfolio analyst Paul Diamond.
Playrooms don’t have to be big spaces, but they do need to be safe and comfortable for little bodies, says Mike Shatsky, president of Commercial Design Solutions, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based firm that designed the fitness center and play area at Club Palisades.
“With some beanbag chairs, little desks and benches, and a television, the play area is ready to go,” Shatsky says. “It didn’t cost much, and parents and kids seem to like it.”