Top apartment firms are delivering community amenity packages that residents want and need. State of the art fitness centers, community-wide wireless Internet and package delivery and holding areas, to name a few, are in many cases must-have amenities for residents. But with the amenity bar now reset, many industry executives are wondering what kind of community features and services the next generation of apartment communities will need to have to stay competitive with peers and relevant with residents.
During the panel discussion at The Next Generation of Apartment Amenities
session, Rohit Anand, a principal with architecture and design firm
KTGY Group Inc., said many apartment developers were drawing design
inspiration from not just the hotel industry anymore but places like the
corporate headquarters for Facebook and Google. These properties
showcase unique approaches to corporate design-light and bright spaces,
funky lounge areas, unexpected design twists (seriously a slide?), cool
digital features and more-that create energy, encourage collaboration
and foster creativity. “The idea is to create spaces where people can be
alone together,” Anand said.
Along those lines, some apartment
firms are seeing niche amenities as a way to create similar interactions
at their communities. Pet amenities, for example, are being taken to a
new level with grooming stations and agility courses becoming important
features at some communities.
Steven Boyack, senior vice
president of asset management and business development at The Laramar
Group, explained, “There’s a differentiation between a property that
accepts pets and a property that honors pets-and their owners. Dog parks
are now really parks and not just unused space. These parks give a
place for owners to socialize. Where people used to spend 10 to 15
minutes at the dog park, now they are spending an hour having coffee,
getting to know their neighbors.”
Pools are evolving from simple
lap pools into specialized areas where residents come together for a
similar experience, whether it’s the fun that goes along with a
waterpark or the quiet reflection that takes place at a spa pool.
Similarly,
community gardens are becoming increasingly popular in the wake of the
growth of community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs. Apartment
firms are responding by using a wide variety of garden types-vegetable
gardens, butterfly gardens or a cocktail garden, with edible flowers and
herbs-to enhance outdoor spaces such as rooftop patios and also revamp
underused amenity space (tennis courts, for example). Related
activities, such as composting and urban beekeeping, are also creating
unique attractions. However, some executives warned of problems if the
garden care and maintenance isn’t managed or outsourced. It’s critically
important to keep residents engaged in a gardening program, perhaps
even by partnering with a CSA program, to keep the gardens looking
healthy and attractive.
Many apartment firms are also
capitalizing on the rise in the popularity of cycling. Not only are
communities offering creative bike storage solutions, but some are
adding bike repair stations or working with third-parties to offer bike
share solutions on site. Some firms aren’t stopping there. Anand said he
knew of one apartment community that had taken the bike shop concept to
the next level and created a “man cave” of sorts, where gear heads
could hang out, watch sports on the big screen, maybe share a frosty
beverage and work on their bikes together.
However, Boyack said,
“Not everything has to be a brick and mortar amenity. We’re doing a lot
more services. You don't necessarily have to create services; if you can
connect them to the best service, that's effective.”
For
example, some new apartment communities are being designed with
designated food truck parking on site while others are reserving spots
for car shares or community moving vans. Others are offering moving
services and products, hotel-quality guest suites and on-site technology
concierges to help residents untangle technology issues.