When the Covid pandemic hit, in 2020, rental and condo communities across the country had to slam the doors on their fitness centers. Now that things are opening up, we wanted to see what’s new in fitness centers since we last visited this topic (Fitness Centers Go for Wellness, Fall 2018).
Who better to bring us up to date than Karl Smith, DHEd, EIM, Fitwel Ambassador, Director of Resident Experience at multifamily developer/owner Cortland? Following are valuable tips from “Dr. Fitness,” as he is called.
1. The big buzz in fitness: “gamification.” Smith said Peloton, the home exercise equipment manufacturer, turned fitness into a game, especially for Gen Z and Millennial residents. “They’re into the gamification of fitness,” he said. “They want to have fun when they’re working out, and they want to talk to their friends about it.”
Just before the company went public, in September 2019, Peloton stopped supplying multifamily properties with new equipment. Its acquisition of Precor in April 2021 created a new division that supplies rental and condo communities with a commercial version of Peloton equipment. Competitors include Echelon (exercise bicycles) and Aviron (rowing machines), said Smith.
Cortland is also installing “mirror” equipment in its gyms. “There’s a screen where you see yourself working out,” said Smith. Popular brands: Mirror, Tempo Studio, and Tonal.
2. The best spot for your fitness center. “The number one best place is to be as close to the leasing office as possible,” said Smith. “The fitness center is a marketing tool. When you take prospects on a tour, you want all your high-end amenities—the gym, the fire pit, the pool—as close to the leasing office as possible so they can see everything in a short period of time and make that commitment to sign the lease.”
3. Safety first on equipment. Cortland uses “selectorized” fitness rigs—resistance machines that have limits on the amount of weight and range of motion the user can employ, so no spotter is needed. “That greatly reduces the odds of a resident getting injured from using our equipment,” said Smith. “Safety is built into everything we do in the gym.”
4. Dump the group classroom. “Chances are you’re going to have one class a day, so that’s 23 hours where it’s not occupied,” said Smith. “When we’re renovating a gym, the first thing we do is take that wall down and turf the floor.” That creates a more inviting space where tenants can work out on their own using accessories like medicine balls and dumbbells and fitness-on-demand programs like Wexer and Wellbeats.
5. Don’t try to meet everyone’s fitness needs. “We cater to a small percentage of our residents,” said Smith. “Seventy-five percent of our tenants say they want a fitness center, but only 10-25% will actually use it.” His research shows that one-fourth of Cortland tenants have a private gym membership; another quarter have no interest in fitness. “We market the service, but we do not expect everyone to use it,” said Smith.
6. Know your fitness target. “You have to identify who you’re building this fitness center for, and you have to have that person in mind every time you build one,” said Smith.
7. The sweet spot: novice exercisers. “They’re active, but they’re not going to be heavy lifters,” said Smith. “They’re going to ask questions about how to work out, which gives us an opportunity to teach about how to use the equipment properly.”
Smith said Cortland has at least one trained “wellness champion” staff member on site, as well as instructional signage showing how to use the equipment. Through a partnership with Valet Living, Cortland brings a trainer to the site two or three times a week for a couple of hours.
Dr. Fitness’s Magical Fitness Facility Space Allocation Formula
How big should your fitness center be? Smith has developed a reliable formula for determining minimum square footage for a typical Cortland rental project, based on the number of rental units:
Minimum square footage = # of units x 1.45 x 0.35 x 0.60 ÷ 5 x 50
For a 300-unit complex, that would be: 300 x 1.45 = 435 x 0.35 = 152.25 x 0.60 = 91.35 ÷ 5 = 18.27 x 50 = 913.5 s.f.
Try it against your own estimate or rule of thumb.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | May 1, 2015
Trade groups extend campaign to promote apartment living
The groups claim that there are more than 37 million Americans—12% of the population—living in just under 20 million apartment units nationwide. Apartments and their residents contribute $1.3 trillion annually to the economy.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 28, 2015
Masdar City: Construction on sustainable residential complex begins
The planned city’s new residences will help support Abu Dhabi’s rapid population growth.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 28, 2015
Mace and Make work on London's 40-story residential tower
The tower is one of six residential high-rises planned near London’s City Road, which is undergoing a mini construction boom.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 27, 2015
The empire strikes back: George Lucas proposes new affordable housing complex he'll finance alone
The latest plans are seen by some as payback for community opposition to his past real estate ventures.
Wood | Apr 26, 2015
Building wood towers: How high is up for timber structures?
The recent push for larger and taller wood structures may seem like an architectural fad. But Building Teams around the world are starting to use more large-scale structural wood systems.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 22, 2015
Condo developers covet churches for conversions
Former churches, many of which are sitting on prime urban real estate, are being converted into libraries, restaurants, and with greater frequency condominiums.
Green | Apr 22, 2015
AIA Committee on the Environment recognizes Top 10 Green Projects
Seattle's Bullitt Center and the University Center at The New School are among AIA's top 10 green buildings for 2015.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 16, 2015
3 award-winning affordable multifamily developments
San Francisco's Bayview Hill Gardens and the Broadway Affordable Housing complex in Santa Monica, Calif., are among the multifamily developments to be honored in AIA's 2015 Housing Awards.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 16, 2015
Seattle’s size restriction on micro apartments blamed for rise in rents
Seattle’s city planner recently said that the council’s new rules have made small apartments more expensive to build and charged the board with “overreaching” and not giving micro-housing “a fair shake.”
High-rise Construction | Apr 16, 2015
Construction begins on Seattle's Tibet-inspired Potala Tower
Construction on the 41-story Potala Tower in Seattle finally kicked off following a ground-breaking ceremony seven months ago.