Thursday, September 19th, 2019
There’s no question living in an amenity building makes life much more convenient. The on-site fitness centers, complementary coffee, package receiving, coworking space, and dog runs are just the tip of the iceberg, With the current trends in amenities, like salon service rooms, penthouse lounges, and sports facilities, it won’t be long before residents never need to leave the building to find anything they want or need.
1. Penthouse floors being allocated as shared space
Multiple high rise rental buildings have begun to make their most coveted penthouse floors available for many residents to enjoy. Ben Creamer, managing broker and founder of Downtown Apartment Company, recently noted in Forbes, “While the penthouse level usually commands the priciest and most exclusive square footage in a rental building, we’ve seen changes to this peak space in Chicago’s new rental model. Many developers are now using the space for shared recreation, to the benefit of all residents rather than just a select few.”
Streeterville’s Optima Signature is one such building. Residents of their larger Apex units, have access to the 52nd floor penthouse space as one of many common spaces in this luxury rental building. The penthouse space offers wine lockers, indoor and outdoor lounge space, and an alfresco kitchen.
Courtesy of Taylor Johnson Public Relations
In the West Loop, The Parker Fulton Market and 727 West Madison have followed suit. The Parker’s penthouse space houses a kitchenette, lounge space, and an atrium-style fire pit. 727 West Madison is Chicago’s tallest residential building west of the highway. The club style space on the top penthouse level gives residents 24-hour access to some of the most sought-after views of the city, as well as exclusive curated events, like mixology classes.
2. Heavy emphasis on recreational sports spaces
In addition to its penthouse level amenity space, Optima Signature has been a front-runner in the trend of sports based amenity spaces. Residents can enjoy racquet ball and basketball courts, a putting green, and golf simulator, in addition to other fitness amenities like a group fitness and cycling studio, full-floor fitness center, indoor and outdoor sauna and steam rooms, as well as cold plunge showers in each locker room. Fulton Market’s K2 and Alta K Station are also apartment buildings with basketball courts.
Although boxing equipment, like speed and punching bags, has made its way into the gyms of many rental buildings over the past few years, 2019 saw buildings with full-sized boxing rings. Included with NEMA Chicago’s 70,000 square feet of amenity space is a boxing ring, the centerpiece of its unparalleled fitness center, which frankly feels more like a 5-star health club. Bush Temple Flats in River North also features a full-sized boxing ring in its spacious, loft-inspired fitness center.
In addition to its expansive fitness center and yoga studio, Streeterville’s two-towered McClurg Court has three full-sized tennis courts (or shall we call them, the McClurg “Courts”).
Courtesy of McClurg Court
3. Salon and spa focused spaces
Luxury buildings are increasingly offering spa spaces and services to residents. The worst part of getting a massage is having to drive in traffic afterward and forget keeping your hair blowout in tact on a windy day. These amenities help residents to avoid such inconveniences.
Both the Gold Coast’s Sinclair apartments and River North’s Parc Huron offer massage rooms which are BYO masseuse. The Cooper at South Bank has a salon space for residents to book services with their own stylists.
Alternatively, the massage room at NEMA has dedicated building masseuses as well as its own stylists for the salon.
Aurelien in the Gold Coast offers on-site hair services on select Fridays in the womens’ locker room on the amenity level.
Courtesy of NEMA Chicago
Looking for luxury apartments with great amenities for rent? Contact us today! We’d be happy to keep you in the Loop!
By Sophie Morrison
