Both adults and kids can use the MNDFL-designed meditation room at Gramercy Square on East 19th Street.VUW
With gyms and screening rooms becoming as standard as stainless steel appliances and marble bathrooms in luxury residences, Manhattan developers are thinking bigger when it comes to building amenities.
From meditation rooms to a concierge that will find you childcare, these new perks have a focus on wellness, privacy and catering to the youngest residents.
Here are the latest amenity trends popping up in 2019.
Meditation studios
Gramercy Square, a luxury development by the Chetrit Group and Clipper Equity on East 19th Street, will house a private meditation studio designed by the brand MNDFL that can be used by both adults and kids in the four-building complex, expected to open later this year.
The meditation room and several of the complex’s common spaces will feature a technology by Lighting Science called Good Day&Night Downlight. The company says the technology, developed in collaboration with NASA to support the natural circadian rhythms of astronauts living on the International Space Station, “enables optimal daytime alertness, while also enhancing nighttime sleep.”
“In today’s world, people are bombarded with information from so many different places,” says David Bistricer, chief executive officer of Clipper Equity. “They need to pull out the plug and escape from all this stuff. Meditation is a time and place to regenerate the mind. I think it’s very much needed in today’s society.”
Studios at Gramercy Square start at $1.36 million.
The concierge at One West End will arrange playdates and match families with babysitters and tutors.Evan Joseph Photography
Kid concierge
Forget chasing down playdates. At One West End, a new development on West End Avenue and 59th Street, a kids’ concierge not only organizes daily activities and special events, such as cooking, yoga, dance and fitness classes, but organizes themed parties and playdates and matches families with babysitters and tutors.
Three bedrooms here start at $5.25 million.
The sports court at The Chamberlain can turn into a Super Bowl party room with a retractable screen.Williams New York
Multipurpose sports courts
The Chamberlain, a new 38-unit building on West 87th Street by Simon Baron Development, with three bedrooms starting at $3.5 million, features a multipurpose sports court that goes beyond the usual gym and can be used for basketball or soccer. It also has a climbing wall.
“For a building that is 38 units it’s a very unique offering,” says Andrew Till, chief operating officer of Simon Baron Development.
The room can also be turned into an event space with a retractable screen and built-in audio/visual system.
“We find that screening rooms are rarely used, but when they are used they are used by a lot of people in the building, such as for the Super Bowl,” Till says.
The 4,100-square-foot rooftop terrace at 196 Orchard comes with a sky lawn and outdoor shower, cabana seating and two kitchens.Williams New York
Rooftop wellness
At 196 Orchard on the Lower East Side, not only is there a 30,000 square foot Equinox gym on the first and second floors, there’s also a 4,100-square-foot landscaped rooftop terrace that will feature yoga and meditation classes. The space also comes with a lawn, outdoor shower, cabanas and two kitchens.
The roof is intended to be a respite for outdoor space-starved New Yorkers, says Jordan Brill, a partner at 196 Orchard developer Magnum Real Estate Group.
“This isn’t some little terrace where residents crowd around and compete for space,” Brill says.
The developer is also working with a new electric car sharing program that is dedicated to residents of the building, which has 94 units starting at $985,000 for a studio.
“Unlike Zipcar, you know you’re sharing this car with your neighbors, you’re not sharing it with all of New York City,” Brill says.
Residents of The Centrale will never need to set foot on the sidewalk in front of the building, which features a porte-cochère.The Seventh Art
Private entrance
High-net-worth buyers can get privacy even in midtown. At The Centrale, a new building at 138 East 50th St., residents arrive through a sheltered porte-cochère that runs from 49th to 50th Street and leads to a garage, so they never have to set foot on the sidewalk.
“It’s not a roundabout — you’re able to turn all the way into the building and enter the lobby without being exposed right in the middle of midtown,” says Anna Zarro, head of sales, marketing and communications for developer Ceruzzi Properties. “If you’re a celebrity or a captain of industry, you do appreciate being able to come and go without being seen.”
Sales for the 124-unit building will start in the spring.