The demand for multi-housing buildings is rising as more people seek the convenience and perks that come with apartment buildings. More importantly, residents are on the hunt for apartment communities that improve the quality of their lives. Even with the rise of multi-use home gym equipment, renters want multifamily units with fitness centers. Here are several reasons why developers should include fitness centers in their apartment complexes.

Multi-Housing Units for Health and Wellness

Modern renters are sensitive to their homes and how they influence their wellness. According to the 2020 NMHC/Kingsley Associates Apartment Resident Preferences Report, renters consider three main components- environment, sustainability, and fitness.

In terms of fitness, renters want:

Residents also prefer the following fitness offerings in their fitness centers.

High-End Residential Buildings Offer Fitness Center Access

As the demand for high-end apartment communities increases, more developers are including several shared amenities in their designs. An overwhelming 92% of new apartment buildings in 2019 had a fitness facility or gym to meet market demands. In the previous decade, 90% of new apartment buildings had gyms, contributing to more than two-thirds of apartment buildings with fitness facilities.

More apartment renters now prioritize fitness centers and wellness as they select homes. According to a 2017 report by the National Apartment Association, 46% of residents were ready to pay a premium to access fitness classes, while 42% would pay top-dollar for walking trails and tracks.

In response, developers have found ways to upgrade their multi-housing units to attract residents. For example, between 2014 and 2017, 12,574 upgraded or added fitness centers to their units. In addition, 8,492 added swimming pools.

The Cost of Renting a Multi-Housing Unit

Onsite fitness facilities don’t come free or cheap. On average, it costs approximately $1,473 to rent an apartment. However, if the unit comes with a gym, it costs roughly $1,530, a $57 difference. The cost is considerably lower than renting an offsite gym, which can cost at least $10 more per month.

In addition, renters don’t have to incur the cost of movement to and from the gym, which is a relief for gym users that prefer to avoid traffic, driving, and the time spent moving to the gym location.

However, while there are cost and time savings, it’s crucial to consider the gym quality. Some multi-housing units offer basic gyms with cardio and lifting equipment. However, some facilities have the latest smart equipment, fitness trainers, classes, pools, and spas. High-end facilities ultimately cost more.

Fitness Facility Use

Ultimately, one main question for developers and landlords comes into play: will renters use the fitness facilities? Many people often have the intention to exercise, especially when they see a fitness facility on site. However, the intention doesn’t always transfer into behavior.

While developers need to provide fitness facilities for renters, they also have to make it easy for renters to use the facilities. For example, not hiding the fitness facility behind the building is crucial. Instead, the fitness facility should be in an open, easy-to-see, and access location.

The exterior and interior should also be attractive to inspire renters to pay and use the facilities. Naturally, developers will want to keep the costs low but reasonable. One way to do this is to find low maintenance facilities, low-cost to run and attractive to renters.

For example, hot pools and spas consume costly power and require regular cleaning. However, smart gym equipment may be cheaper to operate as long as users can switch them on and off to conserve power.

To learn more about fitness centers in multi-housing complexes, contact an Opti-Fit representative in your area.

 

The pool isn’t just about swimming anymore. A multi-family environment can introduce new amenities into the community by turning the pool into an aquatic gym. Water workouts are trending right now and promise to be something that will turn potential residents’ heads.

Flow Motion

They said it couldn’t be done. They were wrong. Make your next community yoga class one that happens in the pool with Flow Motion fitness mats. They are inflatable and easy to store. When in the water, the mat is stable enough to allow residents to workout doing sit-ups, yoga poses — whatever you would normally do on a yoga mat. FlowMotion also comes with teacher training and certifications as well as programs like:

Floaty fun while you exercise.

Spin Class in the Pool

Aquacycling is the newest water-based fitness craze. It takes the low-impact benefit of bike riding and adds the resistance that comes with moving underwater. The combination is a workout that is easy on the joints and won’t leave you with sore muscles the next day.

Water Workout Tools

Both the mat and the bike are an investment that any residential complex will find beneficial but if you were thinking about something smaller then water resistance training tools are a cost-effective option. Think kettlebell that goes in the pool. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. For instance, the Push Plate by Speedo is an all-in-one workout tool that uses water resistance to build muscle. Speedo also offers the Hydroshredder that channels the water to provide the most resistance. You put one on each hand and push to turn the water into weights.

Aquatic

Of course, you could go old-school and offer Aquatic classes to the community. Aquatics is simply exercising in the water. Residents can learn to do everything from water walk to water dance. Aquatics is a good cardio workout that also uses water resistance to safely tone muscles. Today’s apartment dweller wants more, so put that pool to work and add more fitness options to your amenities.

Contact Opti-fit for additional information.

It’s the amenities that make a multi-housing unit stand out for people who live in Sin City. Tourists come to Las Vegas for pampering and fun but do the residents deserve any less? What are the top amenities the people of Las Vegas want n their housing communities?

1. 24-Hour Fitness Center

They are not looking for a room with a few dumbbells, either. Las Vegas multi-housing unit dwellers want something comparable to commercial gyms. The best fitness centers offer top-of-the-line equipment with high tech features like virtual instructors and multi-station or single- selectorized strength training units.

2. Outdoor Theaters

Today’s rental consumer wants to do things outdoors. An outdoor theater gives neighbors a chance to spend time together lounging in the yard and watching a movie. Add to that other outdoor spaces like a plush seating area for conversation and an outdoor club room that connects to an indoor kitchen — these are amenities that make a multi-housing unit a luxury home.

3. Cyber Cafe

Cyber Cafes provides tenants an office away from home where they can enjoy a cup of Java. It could be a mixed-use space that doubles as a sports bar in the evening. The complex brings in new revenue streams with they give tenants a way to buy something near home that they would likely get anyway somewhere else.

4. Amenities for the Pets

Multi-housing units have a lot of options when it comes to treating tenet pets like royalty. They can go all out with a pet spa on-property. It would be a spa-like room with easy to clean tiling. It should include things like large tubs and drying stations for bathing. The property might even bring in professional services two or three times a month.

Of course, most pet owners today will also expect a dog park. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just a fenced in area with benches for pet moms and dads and plenty of running space for dog socialization and play.

5. Electric Car Charging Stations

As the world becomes more environmentally friendly, the need for charging stations will increase. Housing management companies can get a step ahead by creating tenet-only charging stations.

Without amenities, one Las Vegas housing complex looks just like the other. It’s the amenities that will draw the attention of future tenants starting with a top-notch fitness center. Check out Opti-fit to see the latest in fitness products for multi-housing units.

Do you often find your housing community gym dark and empty? It may be time to mix things up to re-establish interest in your multi-housing fitness center. And one of the best ways to do that is by incorporating small group training classes into your mix of local activities.

In this guide, we’ll talk about a few of the benefits and types of this unique style that can be used for everything from strength training to basic cardio. Learn more about just how engaging it can be for your tenants.

Two Benefits of Small Group Training

1. More Personal Instruction

Although it’s a class setting, small group training provides the opportunity for teachers to instruct students on movement types and correct them on any mistakes they may be making. The more people in a class, the more difficult it can be for an instructor to monitor how everyone is doing. In a more focused group of individuals, attendees are more likely to get a quality workout experience that is more catered to their needs.

2. Establish a Friendly & Motivating Atmosphere

Smaller classes offer the chance for people to make new friends and develop relationships. As those friendships grow, members of the class will begin to motivate one another to work harder, attend every session, and reach their fitness goals.

Some Types of Small Group Training

CrossFit

This type of workout has a cult-like following of people who strive to complete a number of various movements or workouts within a specified amount of time. It is usually a high-intensity strength training exercise that includes everything from pull-ups and push-ups to squats and weightlifting. Due to its rotating nature, CrossFit can be done with everything from used fitness equipment to brand new exercise machines.

Indoor Cycling

Also known as “spin class”, this is one of the most popular types of small group training. An instructor leads individuals on stationary bicycles changing up the pace, incline, and intensity every few minutes. They can be highly motivating and stand as a great form of cardio for people of all skill levels.

Treadmill

While walking or running on a treadmill may seem like something you would do on your own, there is new commercial gym equipment available like the T5xGT Group Training Treadmill which has multiple features designed for a group setting. Class members can set their own goals and take part in challenges via the innovative LED console. Users can log in to the machine, complete their workout, and share the accomplish straight to their social media feed.

Need Help Boosting Your Community Gym?

If you’re struggling to get people into your multi-housing fitness center, offering a few small group training classes can be a great way to increase engagement and interest. Along with these fun sessions, consider adding new commercial gym equipment to upgrade any of your outdated or broken down equipment.

For more information about the benefits of a functional community gym or for details about our great products, be sure to check out our blog!

According to the US Census Bureau, apartment rentals are at a 50 year high with young adults doing a majority of the renting. To attract the highest quality tenants, multi-family properties need to offer amenities that people will pay up for. Here are the top five amenities for 2019 that have the best return on investment (ROI).

Fitness

Fitness remains the top apartment amenity. Since it is one of the most popular amenities out there, it also has one of the largest ROIs. The National Apartment Association has reported that 46% of tenants are willing to pay more to live in a building that includes fitness facilities.

The rent premium on a fitness center averages between $67 and $11; with a median cost of $28,000 to install. These numbers are going to be affected by the size of the property, where the property is located, and the type of equipment purchased.

That aside, CEOs of large apartment developments have reported installing whole Pelton bike rooms to bare bones cross fit studios. A popular and inexpensive add-on to a fitness area is a chill-out area, like meditation rooms or yoga studios. If that was not enough one CEO claims to be testing dog treadmills in one building.

Pets, Pets, Pets!

People love their pets, and they are looking for pet-focused amenities. These amenities include dog parks, grooming areas, walking trails, daycare, pet spas, and training services. The median cost to install a pet-friendly area is $7,000.

Installing highly sought after pet-friendly areas will allow you to increase your pet fees and charge additional pet rent. Some buildings charge up to a $500 nonrefundable fee for pets in addition to a $50 per month pet rent.

Work Space

The 2017 Virtual Vocations Year-End Report says that approximately 25% of the US telecommutes at least some of the time. People in these positions desire Multi-family properties that offer working space to telecommuters. Many people find working outside of their home to be distraction free whether that be at the office or a temporary office.

There are no reliable figures for ROI, but with the increase in shared work spaces such as WeWork the return on the median cost of $13,500 to install an office space should be worth the effort. Something like this could even be put into a basement since no windows are required.

Logistics

Package delivery lockers are a big thing that new tenants are asking for. People love their Amazon deliveries. A package locker can cost between $10,000 and $20,000 to have installed.

There is very little upkeep and comes with a rent premium between $10 and $40. Some locker services offer free lockers for a monthly fee.

Outdoor Community Living

A recent aprtments.com survey listed this as one of the top new amenities for multi-family residences. There is some dispute on the overall ROI when compared to the increase in insurance rates and the cost to install. Your ROI for a project like this will depend on the size of your property and where you are installing the amenity.

People are looking for areas to share gardens, BBQs, gaze at the city lights, or have a fire with neighbors. Something like this can be as simple or luxurious as you want to make it.

If you are looking to beef up your amenity spaces to attract more high-quality tenants start with your number one amenity space, your gym. Opti-fit can help you determine what new equipment to bring in, the possibility of creating more outdoor exercise space for people and their pets, and work within your budget and timeframe. Check out the Opti-fit website or email us at sales@opti-fit.com to find out more.

Planning a multi-family fitness center on your own is a big job. You will want to be sure to have all of your ducks in a row. If you are building a multi-housing fitness center, here are some tips to follow when planning out your multi-family gym.

Fitness Equipment

When it comes to choosing the fitness equipment for your new fitness center you are going to have to take a few things into consideration. First, you will want to think about how many people will be attending your gym during busy hours.

One way to get a handle on this is to check out other residential fitness centers in the area during the morning and the evening. You can get an idea of what your clientele load will look like by comparing the total number of residents to the total number of residents that you will have. Understanding your clientele load will give you an idea of how many treadmills, ellipticals, floor space, and amount of other popular equipment that you should have in your fitness center.

You will also want to go have a look at some of the popular commercial gyms to see what attracts clients to go out of their way to workout at that place. Once you get a good idea of what it is these places offer that others do not, you can model your fitness center space after it. For example, if one gym is famous for fire engine red kettlebells, then you could purchase all bright orange ones.

One important seemingly small piece of gym design is to ask yourself if the space is ADA compliant. Your property likely has some apartments that service the disabled; you will want to be sure that your fitness center will as well.

Fitness Design

There are two critical components to design. One is traffic flow, and the other is grouping.

When thinking about traffic flow, you will want to be sure that there is adequate space for people to use each piece of equipment. You will also want to consider the amount of room that will be needed for people to travel from piece of equipment to piece of equipment. You don’t want to risk free weights being strewn in walking pathways where people can trip and hurt themselves.

Grouping equipment by type of exercise works great for most gyms. This works because it cuts down on the amount of space needed between each piece of similar equipment. Grouping equipment properly also encourages interaction between residents and creates better traffic flow in the whole fitness center space.

Infrastructure

Many people tend to overlook the underlying infrastructure of their fitness center until it is too late. They will get the space all set up, plug everything in and blow a fuse, people complain about lighting, or the place starts to smell like dirty socks right away.

Be sure to have a licensed electrician come in and install all of the proper elements for your gym to run smoothly. Also, the electrical configuration needs to be up to code with the city so that it does not get shut down upon the first inspection.

You will want to have proper lighting; lighting is essential in a fitness center. Most people do not enjoy working out in the dark; they also risk hurting themselves when the lighting is poor. Take the time to be sure each area is adequately lit and use green solutions when you can, such as natural lighting or eco-friendly light bulbs.

The case of the gym that smells like dirty socks is almost always the result of poor ventilation. Your multi-family fitness center is going to have to be well ventilated like the rest of the property. There are many ways to take care of this issue, talk to your HVAC service provider or consider purchasing a standalone air filtration system.

If you are planning to design your own multi-family fitness center in California or Nevada; be sure to do plenty of research. Many points to consider have been listed here. Should you have, more questions contact a Opti-Fit at 888-601-4350 or info@opti-fit.com for a FREE consultation.