How About a Speakeasy at an Apartment Property to Attract Tenants? It's Happening.
A new apartment property may have some combination of amenities that include a saltwater pool, podcast booth, coworking space, yoga rooms, super-fast WiFi and the latest in keyless entry. Add a speakeasy to the list.
RXR Realty built a speakeasy at One Clinton Park, a 352-unit apartment property it opened in New Rochelle, New York, in April.
Speakeasies grew in popularity before the pandemic as a replay of the illicit bars and nightclubs that sprung up around the country during Prohibition in hidden locations with secret passwords to enter. Prohibition ended long ago but the speakeasy has the appeal of exclusiveness in a quiet environment that features the libations of yore. It also fits with the desire to socialize with more indoor and outdoor activities after all the coronavirus restrictions.
Developers increasingly are responding to the desires of millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, and Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012. They want to have the latest amenities but also favor environmental sustainability and social consciousness where they live.
And they are getting that as apartment companies seek to boost their scores in environmental, social and governance, known as ESG, to attract investors. The importance of focusing on ESG was a common underlying theme during the fall meeting in Dallas this week of Urban Land Institute, the nonprofit real estate research and policy organization.
Joanne Broadway, senior managing director at property management company Greystar, told a crowded room during ULI that the company’s survey of some 460,000 tenants found they are consumers who are ecologically conscious and want playful outdoor space in an amenity-rich environment.
A speakeasy is the type of amenity that differentiates a property from competitors. “Residents want the differentiator" in a apartment project, Broadway said.
Tenants don’t want run-of-the-mill amenities. So, a pool may not be a pool but a “lazy river” as is the case at the 352-unit Domain Town Center in Houston that CityStreet Residential opened in September 2021.
But younger renters do want environmental sustainability properties that support socially conscious efforts.
Reducing a property’s carbon emissions footprint was a recurring topic during ULI’s meeting, with speakers noting that more real estate companies are pushing forward with meeting ESG standards to hit carbon emissions goals by 2030 to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
For apartment properties, that means biophilic design that brings the nature inside the common areas as well as building with natural materials and incorporating natural light.
Biophilic design helps boost ESG scores for companies that helps them when trying to attract equity investors.
Mandi Wedin of Feroce Real Estate Advisors, based in Washington, D.C., said during a different ULI panel that new development and redevelopment projects need to incorporate ESG.
“If you avoid a piece of that, it’s to your detriment,” Wedin said.
