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It’s no wonder that much of the action surrounding lifestyle applications is in South Florida where confluence of money, prime real estate, and the desire for pampering create the ideal environment for developers and property owners to introduce and test technology-based amenities.
After all, offering these applications “is not cheap,” according to John Deinhardt, senior vice president at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based Colonial Development, which developed Europa by the Sea in Lauderdale by the Sea, Fla. (The property also provides a virtual concierge to residents.) “This is high-end.”
But as technology gets cheaper and fiber extends its reach into urban, suburban, and rural areas, tech experts expect such amenities to spread out both geographically and demographically. Among the groups worth watching: students, who expect technology to be available, useful, and entertaining (56 percent participate in interactive gaming alone, which requires high-speed access and paves the way for other interactive applications, according to O’Connell), and baby boomers, who still have a lot of working years ahead of them.
As their retirement plans evaporate along with their pension and 401(k) accounts, this last group is adjusting its expectations for retirement and at-home technology. “The work force age is increasing as this over-55 age group is having to work longer before retiring or move into part time or contract work arrangements in order to maintain a desirable lifestyle,” says Thomason. “This group has become accustomed to the luxury of fast connections at work. When they go home and begin to use the Internet for their personal interests or for work they are conducting from their home, they get frustrated with dial-up connections and bite the bullet to make the change to high-speed.”
That increased bandwidth offers the potential for more lifestyle, entertainment, and personal fitness tech applications only available now in the most luxurious condos and apartments.
But in the future, who knows what might be available? Richard Holtz, president of Infinisys, a low-voltage design firm based in Daytona, Fla., that brings technology-based solutions to multifamily properties, planned development communities, commercial buildings, and student housing, believes “we eventually will see things holographically.”
If he’s right, residents who live in high-end condos may still have to dress themselves, but the technology in the building will be able to do just about anything else.
–Teri Robinson is a freelance writer in New York.