Fitness Shape-Up Most managers won’t be surprised that the top amenity that companies are targeting for upgrade is the fitness center. The consensus seems to be that because the fitness center is such a big selling point with potential tenants, updating it is one of the best renovation projects a community can undertake–especially if the renovation makes the fitness center bigger. “People think if they move into a building with a great gym, they will work out every day and meet people,” says Julie Smith, president of the Bozzuto Group in Greenbelt, Md.
Sometimes, fitness center makeovers can lead to other key improvements. A $300,000 renovation of a suburban Virginia property owned by Bozzuto resulted in updates to three areas. First, the property included a racquetball court that was only used by a handful of the 500 residents. After surveying residents about what types of community spaces they preferred, Bozzuto converted the racquetball court into a state-of-the-art fitness center and turned the existing, smaller fitness center into an upgraded business center. Finally, the original business center became a storage room for deliveries that have increased substantially with the advent of e-commerce. Because the renovations met resident demands, Bozzuto plans to repeat the process in other buildings with racquetball courts.
Social Spaces Property to property, though, what all of these renovation projects have in common is the fact that they create social space. Any opportunity a property can offer for residents to get to know one another makes the community that much more attractive to prospective tenants, especially if the target market is young professionals. “With so many people working out of their homes today and looking for relief from the inherent isolation of that situation, upgrading and adding public spaces has become more important than ever,” says Archstone-Smith’s Al Neely.
So companies are making the effort to do so at their properties, both inside and out. At Home Properties, community centers are shrinking, with their square footage going toward high-end public kitchens and public audiovisual centers. The company has also created wireless hot spots at different properties, so that residents with a laptop and a network card can surf the Internet while sitting by the pool. Elsewhere, owners and managers are expanding outdoor spaces to include seating areas with outdoor fireplaces and resort-style pool areas with large decks, seating areas, and commercial grills. At Windsor, an apartment community in Woodbridge, N.J., a previously unused area was totally cleared out and replaced with a park-like setting, with paths, charcoal grills, and benches, all with a view of the Manhattan skyline. Who could resist such a space? Nobody, and that’s the point, apartment executives say.
“It’s very important to make it convenient for people interact,” says Neely. “They want to almost be forced to mingle with their neighbors.”
–Charles Wardell (clwardell@earthlink.net) is a freelance writer in Vineyard Haven, Mass.