Newest Developments Say Goodbye to Bowling Alleys and Laundry Rooms

At Manhattan View, a new collection of condominiums atop the MiMA mixed-used development on West 42nd Street, buyers are enjoying amenities like an indoor swimming pool, outdoor terraces with a movie theater and barbecue nooks, a karaoke room, and a full-size basketball court.

But you won’t find a laundry room or old-fashioned gym in the basement—or a microwave oven in the apartment kitchens or a bidet in the bathrooms. And no cumbersome keys for the apartment entry doors–a phone app will let you in.

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As high-end developers go up, up and up on the amenities front, some once-common and expected amenities from as recently as five years ago are falling out of favor.

Wanted: Amenities that are compact, easy to maintain and self-service

In Miami, luxury broker Dora Puig says that she is seeing a move away from space hogs like tennis courts and kiddie pools. "Developers want to take advantage of whatever space they have to build," said Ms. Puig, the principal broker and owner of Luxe Living Realty in Miami Beach.

She is also seeing developers abandon long hallways and corridors in new buildings. Instead, buyers want private elevators that open right into their apartments.

Even in older buildings around the U.S., lobbies have gotten smaller as managing agents try to find space to store all of the online shopping packages that arrive each day, said Stephen Kliegerman, president of Halstead Property Development Marketing in New York City. Some of the new storage rooms even have refrigeration space for prescription drug and flower deliveries as well as grocery delivery.

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Along with being space hogs, some large-scale amenities are dropped because they are difficult to maintain. Bowling alleys, for example, "need consistent work and maintenance and upkeep," said Neil Johnson, director of residential real estate for Ohana Real Estate Investors based in Redwood City, California. "We have found that our 40-foot rock climbing wall [at private residential community Maravilla Los Cabos in Mexico] requires little to no maintenance and is a huge hit with families." 

Sometimes cutting back on amenities simply makes sense financially for buildings and residents. "In general what I’m seeing is a push toward more self-service amenities" that don’t require full-time staff, said Mr. Kliegerman, president of Halstead Property Development Marketing in New York City. To save on personnel costs, many mid-sized buildings, those clocking in at 30 to 50 units, are reducing their lobby staff from full time to part time, according to Mr. Kliegerman. That may mean a virtual doorman in the late-night hours instead of the expected 24-hour service that they may have had a few years ago.

Swimming pools are still prevalent in large buildings—ones with more than 100 units—but no longer fashionable in new mid-sized buildings, Mr. Kliegerman said, because they’re too expensive to build and maintain. Off-site parking concierge service was big a few years ago, but has now fallen out of favor, after owners complained of long wait times.

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In-apartment amenities

Induction cooking has become so popular that some developers in new buildings are not even installing gas lines for the kitchens. "That’s a huge savings for the developer," Mr. Kliegerman said, and buyers get a little more space, too, by not having chases for the pipes running through their apartments.

"Gas is starting to be potentially less used and perhaps obsolete in the future," he said.

The new Sorting House building rising atop the Radio City Post Office on West 52nd Street in Manhattan, which has condos ranging in price from $895,000 to $2.895 million, has induction cooking only—and no gas. "Buyers seem to love the technology and not having to worry about gas issues," Mr. Kliegerman said. "We sold all 30 units in four months."

In other new buildings, microwaves have moved off the counter or above the stove into drawers, he said. Or, as at Manhattan View on West 42nd Street, the microwave has been replaced with a high-tech Gaggenau speed oven. "It’s a microwave and convection oven in one unit," said Maureen Rogers, director of sales for Manhattan View.

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"You can roast a chicken and have dinner ready in 15 minutes," she said. "Everything comes out juicy and roasted and it’s a huge time saver."

In apartment bathrooms, Mr. Kliegerman said that he is "not seeing many steam showers in mid-level buildings." Bidets have also fallen out of favor.

He’s also seeing a move away from costly natural stone in favor of engineered products like quartzite and Caesarstone. Similarly, developers are moving away from hardwood floors in favor of engineered wood. "The engineered products are becoming better and better," he said.

"In general, as far as what’s going into apartments, people are looking to get the most beautiful product for the money," and that may mean man-made.

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Gym and laundry—building amenity staples—get an upgrade

At Manhattan View, where prices start at $1.595 million, the gym is a sunny and bright private Equinox facility on the third floor (not in the basement, as was traditionally the case), and every new apartment has its own washer and dryer, so there is no need for common laundry space anywhere.

Elsewhere in Manhattan, the Related Companies opted for washers and dryers in every rental apartment—even small studios—instead of a common laundry area at its Abington House in Chelsea, where rentals go up to $12,000 a month.

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New technologies warrant new amenities—inside and outside the home

Advancing technology has left some older amenities in the dust. "iPod docking stations were all the rage seven to 10 years ago," Mr. Kliegerman said, but now everything is wireless. Built-in stereo systems have also fallen out of favor and been replaced with wireless sound systems. On the flip side, he’s now seeing electrical outlets with built-in USB ports as part of the unit.

Children’s play rooms are still popular, Kliegerman said, but some lounges have been converted into a co-working environment for all of the people who no longer head to an office every day thanks the advances in telecommuting.

The new Manhattan View has a Business Center with free coffee and tea for its work-from-home condo owners, Ms. Rogers said. Other new buildings with Office Centers include 15 Hudson Yards and 111 Murray Street, as well as 50 Greenpoint, a new condo building in Brooklyn, ranging in price from$780,000 to $2.3 million, where the lounge is designed with a floor-to-ceiling glass-wall, co-working spaces and room to accommodate casual gatherings or events. Abington House in Chelsea has a Mac Bar for telecommuters, with printers and fax machines available for residents.