Communal gyms have been part of new apartment blocks in Central London for well over a decade, if not two. Now, a major change is currently taking place, as JLL Director Peter Preedy explains: “Nearly all leisure facilities — probably about 95 percent — are currently located in the basement floors of new buildings, but that’s changing. People want light and air while they relax or work out. As a result, developers are coming around to the idea of giving away space on the first floor or above or even on the roof, for leisure facilities.”
With health and fitness now firmly embedded in modern living, there’s rising demand in prime locations for a range of wellness facilities, from rooftop studios to landscaped gardens, often incorporating quiet areas and a greater emphasis on the use of natural materials. At London’s Belvedere Gardens, for example, wellness includes lounge spaces for residents and their guests to mix with each other as well as flexible gym areas which can host activities from yoga to spinning.
Developers call in the wellness experts
Developers are increasingly calling on specialists from the wellness sector to provide their services in-house. At New York’s 196 Orchard development in the Lower East Side, the gym and juice bar offered by luxury fitness group Equinox have a particular draw for young professional buyers. Similarly, The Wright Fit has divisions specializing in health center design and maintenance, working within many famous buildings including 432 Park Avenue in Manhattan and Palazzo del Sol in Miami Beach.
Rooftop pools and gyms with views may not be a novelty in the world’s top hotels but they are far rarer in the residential sector. This too is starting to change, according to Peter Gibney, Residential Director at JLL. He points to developments in London which are raising the bar by delivering “spaces that you simply want to be in.” Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms is “pushing the boundaries of what is being offered,” he says, with a planned 25-meter, glass sky pool, stretching between two of its blocks up at the at 9th floor. “London is right up there among the global cities in terms of offering these facilities and making the best use of space, particularly on the upper floors,” he says.