While location has long been the determinant of a home's value and desirability, a recent spate of condo projects are going for the wow factor in their amenities package. We're not talking the usual barbecues, cabanas, fitness clubs and catering kitchens, but a whole new level -- out-of-this-world spas, rock climbing walls and individual wine cellars, to name a few.
In some instances, the sheer size of an amenity space allows for more possibilities -- such as at Imperial Plaza at Yonge and St. Clair, where a 40,000-square-foot indoor/ outdoor space offers not just the usual fitness club, golf simulator and squash courts, but quirkier offerings, such as a sound studio for music recording and rehearsing.
Coming up with the idea was as much personal as it was driven by market research, explains Matt Davis of the Design Agency, which was responsible for Imperial's amenity space. Both he and the project architect, Rod Rowbotham, are hobbyist musicians: "The more we talked, the more we kept thinking music, and how nice it is to have your own private space to practise and jam with friends."
Getting into music as an adult is a recent, but well documented, phenomenon among Baby Bboomers working through their bucket lists. And for buyers in that age group, a sound studio is a distinct perk. With so much amenity space, it wasn't all that difficult to include two rehearsal spaces, each large enough for a five-piece band, and a green room made up of two lounges. The builder is considering adding a piano, but for now, residents will have to bring their own instruments, either from their suite, or from designated lockers.
Responding to buyers' individuality -- or rather the particularity of their habits -- is something developers are keen to explore. At Chicago, a new 487-unit project in Mississauga by Daniels Corp., one of the amenities is a 34-foot climbing wall.
The reason behind it is that active amenity spaces are important, says Jake Cohen, Daniels Corp.'s implementation manager for Chicago. "We wanted to set ourselves apart by expanding the fitness centre notion into something that would differentiate us from the rest."
With Chicago being so close to Square One, the Living Arts Centre and the projected new Sheridan College campus, the developer anticipated a large percentage of investor buyers who will rent out their units. So the process became to "think about what would be active, engaging, socially beneficial, and geared to the younger person who'd likely be living there," Mr. Cohen says.
The climbing wall idea, Mr. Cohen explains, would not only appeal to the younger demographic -- renters tend to be younger -- but would also be a "great way to get people in the building to come together and interact in a way they wouldn't otherwise."
It meant hiring a recreational co-ordinator who's also a certified climbing wall instructor to meet safety standards. But the bigger goal, Mr. Cohen insists, was to encourage people to use the space. "So many amenity spaces go unused, unless there's a co-ordinator in place to make sure it becomes a bit of a Club Med experience."
In the same vein, but for different reasons, a place to play has become a prominent part of the amenities features at the master-planned Uptown Markham community. The developer, Times Group, sacrificed a two-bedroom unit with terrace to create a 750-sq.-ft. indoor playground where preschool kids play and their supervising parents socialize. It includes jungle gyms, slides and swings, plenty of floor play space, and on the 500-sq.-ft. terrace, which is protected by a wall, and there's ladder climber and slides.
Because more families are starting to embrace the condo lifestyle, it was a specific aim to make the project "family friendly, by creating facilities for small children," says Elmar Busch, Uptown's director of marketing. "Condos often say they are family friendly, but don't usually provide facilities for kids." It was especially important, he adds, because of the ideal family setting -- 88 acres in the Rouge Valley park.
Budget is also a huge indicator of what kind of amenities to expect, given that deep pockets usually go-hand-in-hand with a prime address. Take One Bloor, for example. It's quite possibly "the best location in Canada," according to Sandra Frasson, vice-president of sales and marketing for Great Gulf Homes, "and one of the priciest corners in the country, so the amenities had to be equally special."
That's why Great Gulf "went to town," she says, with a 27,000-sq.-ft. amenity space that includes two pools -- one indoor and the other an indoor/outdoor with glass partition wall that allows one to swim underneath and be outside.
"Imagine this," Ms. Frasson says. "A wintry evening, snow softly falling, and you're experiencing it from the warmth of an outdoor pool. That's kind of the height of decadence."
The rest of the spa, though, is just as swish -- in addition to the two pools, there are three treatment rooms, his-and-hers cold plunge and hot plunge pools, experience showers, Laconium (dry temperature steam room) and Tepidarium (a heated area to prep before going into the steam room). An ice fountain -- where ice is applied directly to the body -- is supposed to increase circulation and strengthen the immune system. Add to that cardio rooms, yoga rooms, foot baths, hot tub and a whole roster of uber-luxurious spa facilities.
Ms. Frasson acknowledges that although this desire for spas is "part of the health and well-being trend," she believes One Bloor goes above and beyond: "You're basically living in your own spa, with full access for residents, no sharing with the general public. We realized that buyers in this range want to pamper themselves. All of us should take a leaf from that book."
Taking luxury in quite a different direction, the developers of 36 Hazelton -- Alterra Group and Zinc Developments -- chose to woo oenophiles with a wine cellar area that has individual wine fridges designated for each suite. "This is really a function of the affluent nature of the purchasers," says Robert Cooper, Alterra's president. "Wine is enjoyed by all different types of people, both the really dedicated wine collector and those who enjoy drinking fine wines."
Alterra's market research revealed buyers in this price range and location wanted wine storage. Shared by residents of the 18 suites, there is a wine cellar with 21 private climate-controlled and lockable fridges. Adjoining the wine cellar is a tasting room, which Mr. Cooper says is "ideal for intimate dinner parties or small groups."
Sometimes, it's the site constraints that end up dictating the amenities. King + Condos, for example, is a 132-unit project in a heritage building on the southeast corner of King and Sherbourne. The footprint was too narrow to allow conventional parking -- not nearly enough turning radius -- so the building's architect Prishram Jain, came up with a solution: vehicle elevators.
A single ramp leads down to P1, where there are a couple of parking spaces, and two elevators that take cars down to their preselected level. A transponder inside the resident's car not only opens the exterior garage door and calls the elevator, but then identifies the correct parking level, so the resident never has to leave the car.
Not a typical solution, but a brilliant use of space -- and residents get a unique move-in experience and a conversation starter when bringing guests home to their new unit.
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