To maintain exclusivity and convenience via an attractive amenity, a select group of office buildings are choosing to install their own tenants-only fitness facilities.\u2028\u2028 These now include the Empire State Building, which has been creating its own vertical campus with many amenities; the far smaller, more boutique-sized 111-115 Broadway; the tony 510 Madison Ave.; and the new International Gem Tower.<\/p>\n
At the International Gem Tower, which has a jewel tenants\u2019 lobby at 50 W. 47th and a high floors\u2019 lobby at 55 W. 46th, there is a private, tenants-only 2,000-square-foot gym. It includes locker rooms, showers, steam rooms and bike storage. \u2028\u2028On a tour earlier this year, Raizy Haas, senior vice president, project management and development for Extell Development, said it will also have a \u201cquiet\u201d room for yoga.\u2028\u2028Extell developed the 34-story, high-security mixed-use office condominium building in part for the diamond, gem and jewelry trade. The separate office \u201cbuilding\u201d on the top floors, entered at 55 W. 46th St., is being sold to SL Green Realty Corp., which will take over all operations, including the gym.<\/p>\n
David Falk, Tri-State president of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, said that during a space search \u201cwhen there\u2019s a tie\u201d between spaces, a gym can be the tie-breaker, \u201cbut it\u2019s not going to be the driver of the decision.\u201d\u2028\u2028 Richard Cohen, president of Capital Properties, however, said amenities, in general, often drive the leasing of office space.<\/p>\n
His 111-115 Broadway, a k a Trinity Centre, a historical property near Trinity Church, is installing, among other features, a full floor of white-boarded conference rooms, a golf simulator and a new gym on a top floor.\u2028\u2028\u201cWe\u2019re putting in a health club on the 22nd floor for tenants only,\u201d said Cohen. \u201cIt\u2019s not a small little health club in a basement \u2014 it is well lit and sunny, 4,000 square feet and elaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The building\u2019s leasing agent, Bradley P. Gerla, executive vice president at CBRE, says the gym is already helping attract tech and advertising tenants to the downtown building.\u2028\u2028 The gym will be open by the end of the year. \u2028\u2028\u201cTenants don\u2019t have to leave the building and can work out before work or during lunch,\u201d said Gerla. \u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of it.\u201d\u2028\u2028Boston Properties\u2019 510 Madison Ave. ups the exclusivity ante by offering only five passes per floor to its 7,000-square-foot fitness facility. The amenity is billed at $1.50 per foot, said its leasing agent, Paul Amrich, vice chairman of CBRE. Where a floor is shared by two tenants, three might go to one and two to the other, he said.<\/p>\n
The gym was designed by developers Harry and Billy Macklowe prior to the luxury office building being sold to Boston Properties. It includes a 50-foot lap pool, marble vanities and wood-paneled locker rooms fully stocked with top-of-the-line products.\u2028\u2028Currently, 510 Fitness is managed by Plus One Health Management. Along with the pool, it has a weight room and cardio machines, and offers personal training, yoga and Pilates.\u2028\u2028 \u201cThey implemented the highest-grade gym in an office building,\u201d said Amrich. \u201cThe lap pool is an extra benefit and it\u2019s a nice architectural piece. It\u2019s been a real draw and has assisted with the lease up. A lot of tenants in the building are very serious about their workouts so having it, and being private, is a real benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 35-story tower now has roughly 150 passes to the gym handed out, but has the capacity to go up to 200.\u2028\u2028\u201cThe reason we kept it to that number is so the gym is never crowded. You will only see five or 10 people working out,\u201d said Amrich.\u2028\u2028Broker Daniel Posy, senior managing director at Savills Studley, who represents many hedge fund clients, said, \u201cIt\u2019s a great amenity for my clients who would otherwise put in their own gyms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Posey explained that getting permission from a building owner to install a gym in a tenant\u2019s own space is a \u201cnightmare\u201d and \u201ccauses messy lease negotiations. \u201d\u2028\u2028Gyms on tenant floors can become noisy for other tenants, Posy explained, especially when employees drop weights. It also adds extra plumbing for showers. \u201cTenants will not put in a health club because it\u2019s too costly,\u201d said building owner Cohen. \u201cIt\u2019s really the job of the building to put in those amenities.\u201d\u2028\u2028The gigantic Empire State Building, which is creating a vertical urban campus, recently opened a health facility in its concourse that\u2019s fit for an 800-pound gorilla.<\/p>\n
The 15,000-square-foot, tenants-only gym, the largest tenants-only facility in the city, is operated by Plus One.\u2028\u202817 Life has installed its own treadmills, crosstrainers, stairclimbers and numerous bike configurations along with strength equipment. \u2028\u2028Although even lowly employees can join for $35 per month, there is a separate private executive fitness section with three changing cabanas.\u2028\u2028 \u201cThis is very, very high-end and very lavish,\u201d said Tom Durels, executive vice president and director of leasing and operations for ESB\u2019s owner, Empire State Realty Trust. \u2028\u2028\u201cOur tenants will never wait for a treadmill or a shower. There is an abundance of showers in lavishly appointed locker rooms and a very high-quality experience for the exclusive use of our tenants,\u201d Durels said. He called the $35-per-month fee a \u201cbargain,\u201d and says the company will make its money through the lease up of the building, and attracting and retaining tenants at higher rents.\u2028\u2028The health club opened earlier this month and hours are being rejiggered as use patterns are monitored.<\/p>\n
Other facilities include a tenants-only conference center, and on-site food options, including the new State Grill & Bar with private executive dining and private event space.\u2028\u2028\u201cIt\u2019s all about creating a very remarkable, very unique experience housed in this architectural gem,\u201d said Durels.<\/p>\n
The success of the tenants-only gyms as a private amenity is giving other owners the incentive to add facilities to their own buildings. Amrich, of CBRE, will soon launch marketing for 222 E. 41st St. \u2014 which will be entirely vacant when its only tenant, law firm Jones Day, moves downtown \u2014 and will soon feature a high-end athletic club.\u2028\u2028Built in 2002, the 400,000-square-foot tower has high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. In consultation with Amrich, the owners, Atlanta-based Columbia Property Trust, decided to fill the second floor with amenities.\u2028\u2028Amrich said in addition to the athletic club, which will be just for building tenants, it will have a high-end food service similar to a dining club for the building\u2019s executives.\u2028\u2028A luxurious lounge and library- like environment will also have \u201ccool\u201d meeting areas, he said.<\/p>\n
The Midtown building will also have rents averaging in the $70s per foot.\u2028\u2028While many are now available, the very first non-public office fitness center was installed by Hartz Group at 667 Madison Ave., which is known as one of the \u201ccountry club\u201d buildings for its exclusivity and amenities. Opened in 2012, it\u2019s free for tenants and their employees.<\/p>\n
source: https:\/\/nypost.com\/2014\/10\/20\/the-rise-of-tenants-only-gyms-in-nyc-office-buildings\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
To maintain exclusivity and convenience via an attractive amenity, a select group of office buildings are choosing to install their own tenants-only fitness facilities.\u2028\u2028 These now include the Empire State Building, which has been creating its own vertical campus with many amenities; the far smaller, more boutique-sized 111-115 Broadway; the tony 510 Madison Ave.; and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n