Trends for 2018: What's on Tap for New Developments

'Agrihoods,' wellness perks are increasingly popular

By Bill Cary

Health and wellness in new developments is a trend that shows no sign of abating in 2018.

Consumer demand for wellness-lifestyle real estate and communities is on the rise globally, according to the Global Wellness Institute, a Miami-based nonprofit educational foundation. In 2017, the Institute pegged the wellness-lifestyle real estate and communities market at $119 billion, growing at a rate of 9% a year, and estimated it to jump to $153 billion by 2020.

A recent survey by the American Lives market research firm of American households with annual incomes over $75,000 found that 25% are already “very interested” in living in a wellness community.

“All of that health and wellness and holistic demand has definitely come back,” said Frances Katzen, a new development agent at Douglas Elliman in New York. “We are finding more and more that people are impressed about the idea of living with trees and tranquility as an escape from the urban grind.”

Jardim
West Chelsea, New York City

At the new Jardim (translated to “garden” in Portuguese) in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, a two-tower building set to open in the second quarter of 2018, Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld and New York landscape architecture firm Future Green Studio have created lush multi-level courtyard gardens as a contemplative focal point, Ms. Katzen said.

“People more and more are choosing health and quality of living, not just quantity of living,” she said.

Gyms and pools have become expected wellness mainstays in new New York condos especially. “If you don’t have one, people consider it second-rate,” said Corcoran’s Sharon Baum.

The swank new three-building Waterline Square on Manhattan’s West Side, which is under construction and scheduled for completion in early 2019, will offer more than 100,000 square feet of sports, leisure, and lifestyle amenities that include an indoor tennis court, soccer field, state-of-the-art fitness center, and a 25-meter, three-lane lap pool. It will even have its own 2.6-acre park for outdoor activities.

Luxury meets lap pool at Waterline Square(photo: Noe and Associates with The Boundary)

Luxury meets lap pool at Waterline Square
(photo: Noe and Associates with The Boundary)

At the new Maravilla Los Cabos residential resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the amenities package includes a wealth of health, fitness and wellness options. The 60,000-square-foot private clubhouse has multiple dining options along with a variety of pools, including a three-level infinity pool, lap pool, hot and cold plunge pools and a Jacuzzi.

Maravilla also features a full-service spa, fitness center and outdoor fitness palapa, a two-story climbing wall and lawn sports courts. An 18-hole putting course and miles of groomed desert hiking and biking trails offer more outdoor activities.

In Dubai, “with increased awareness of fitness, many buyers prefer those properties with greenery and water around them that include a jogging or exercise track,” said Imrann Nawab, sales director at Gulf Sotheby's International Realty. “I am sure this will soon become a must-have for each and every purchaser looking to invest in Dubai.”

Health and wellness are a vital part of the outdoorsy Florida lifestyle, said Robert Morales, vice president of operations at Ability by Acierto, where he is overseeing Bijou Bay Harbor, the company's planned luxury waterfront development in Miami-Dade County’s Bay Harbor Islands. The nine-story, 41-condo building on the waterfront broke ground in early 2017 and is about 70% sold.

“People like being able to go to the beach, to run on the beach, to ride their bike along the beach, or get in a kayak or go paddle boarding,” he said. “All of that is big here.”

New Neighborhoods

Another development trend to watch for in 2018 involves builders pushing into formerly sleepy, or out-of-the-way neighborhoods.

In New York, the Upper East Side, which had fallen out of favor in recent years, with luxury buyers headed downtown instead—is now back in style.

“A lot of downtown people are moving back uptown, to the Upper East Side, when they have children because the schools are here, their play dates are here,” Ms. Baum said. “So they give up their downtown lifestyle.”

“It’s much different than 10, 15 years ago when you were either an uptown person or a downtown person,” she said. “Now it’s a real, real mix.”

Plus, she added: “It’s much more expensive to live in a hip, new bright and shiny condo downtown than in an older pre-war co-op on the Upper East Side.”

Parts of Brooklyn that haven’t seen new developments in decades are now seeing swank new condo buildings.

Corcoran is launching a number of new buildings in southern Brooklyn, including 5th and Green, a four-townhouse development in Greenwood; the Jade Condominium in Bensonhurst and the nine-story, 65-condo Onyx Square in Sheepshead Bay.

Hill West Architects recently completed two projects, 363 Bond Street and 365 Bond Street, in formerly rundown industrial sections along the Gowanus Canal.

In London, meanwhile, prime central neighborhoods that had fallen out of favor because they were considered overbuilt and overpriced are back in style with buyers and investors, said Keith Rigby of real estate brokerage Bective Leslie Marsh. “Notting Hill, Kensington and Chelsea are all good buys at the moment, compared to two or three years ago.”

At the same time, “a lot of development has moved out of prime central London, to areas further afield,” such as Putney, Ealing, Acton and Harrow, he said.

In South Florida, some developers are moving away from Palm Beach and Miami and Miami Beach—which some experts are calling overbuilt—in favor of farther afield spots like Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Coconut Grove.

“Fort Lauderdale is a happening place,” said Louise Sunshine, strategic advisor for Fort Partners in the creation of The Surf Club Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in Miami Beach and the Four Seasons Residences in Fort Lauderdale. “It’s slowly becoming the center of culture between Miami and Palm Beach, and unlike these other two communities, it’s not overbuilt.”

In PricewaterhouseCoopers’ list of real estate markets to watch in 2018, Fort Lauderdale is ranked No. 6 among U.S. cities, according to its 2018 “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” report. Developers have taken notice of Fort Lauderdale’s growth and potential, and brands such as Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Paramount, Auberge and the Wave have stepped into the scene with new projects.

“Coconut Grove is doing really well now,” Mr. Morales said. “Coconut Grove has been known for years for its secluded neighborhoods. You’re close to the harbor, close to the bay. There are some great, great neighborhoods there.”

In Coconut Grove, the 23-unit, five-story GlassHaus is expected to break ground in the first quarter of the year, with prices ranging from the $600,000s for one-bedroom units up to $1.6 million for three-bedroom penthouses. It is about 30% sold, with delivery expected in the second quarter of 2019.

The five-story, 26-unit Fairchild Coconut Grove is set to begin construction in early 2018, with an expected delivery date by the summer of 2019 and prices ranging from $1.6 million to $4.4 million.

High-End Model Units

To help sell high-end buildings and resorts, developers increasingly are turning to well-known designers to decorate and luxuriously outfit model homes and apartments.

At the new Maravilla Los Cabos residential resort in Mexico, developer Ohana Real Estate Investors built and luxuriously furnished a$14 million five-bedroom model home with its own private pool to draw in potential buyers. It’s fully turnkey and move-in ready, with interiors designed by Mexico City-based designer Lorena Vieyra of Vieyra Arquitectos.

“We built it to give people an idea of what the finished product would look like,” said Neil Johnson, director of residential real estate for Ohana. “It’s been extremely well received. We’ve had a few offers on it.”

At 252 East 57th Street in Manhattan, the developers turned to well-known designer Robert Couturier to outfit the deluxe interiors of Apartment 52C so that it could serve as a model home for potential buyers within the luxury condo tower.

Having a decorated model unit helps guide potential buyers on how to interpret and decorate the otherwise bare spaces.

“Most people do not understand floor plans,” Ms. Sunshine said. “They don’t understand dimensions or space.”

“When developers build out a model residence to scale, and furnish it, it helps people understand the building,” she said.

“It’s probably one of the most effective ways to sell an apartment,” Ms. Katzen said. “People who are not usually comfortable using a designer walk in and say they want it all.”

“The staging helps to convey the experience and the lifestyle choice,” she said.

Mr. Morales agreed.

“Projects that have models sell really well and they sell really fast,” Mr. Morales said. “People come in and want to buy the model. It’s a no-brainer—you can move in and bring your toothbrush.”

Open Floor Plans Made for Entertaining

In apartments and houses, open floor plans and large entertaining spaces continue to be popular.

“Everybody still loves the open-concept open floor plan,” Mr. Healey said.

Dawn Maddux, a Montana agent with Engel & Völkers Western Frontier, agreed. “People are looking for good, easy functionality. They want an open concept where entertaining and having a family can all happen in the same space. I feel like people are getting back to more family time,” she said.

Similarly, media rooms in houses are on the downswing, she said, in favor of “rec and game rooms—things that are more interactive.”

In London, “entertaining space is key because I’m starting to see a lot of older couples staying in the city,” Mr. Rigby said. “Therefore they want more entertaining space and fewer bedrooms because their children have gone.”

Similarly, he is also seeing a “demand for lateral spaces,” all on one floor.

Agrihoods

Keep an eye on agrihoods—or communities built around farms—as a trend on the rise in 2018.

The Kukui'ula resort development on the South Shore of Kauai in Hawaii features a 50-acre community farm equipped with a staff of farmers who help residents and guests of the property harvest seasonal fruits and vegetables on site. They can help tend the soil or pick from fields of red ginger, papayas and mangos.

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Set to open in 2018, Costa Palmas, the new 1,000-acre Four Seasons Resort and Residences in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, will feature 18 acres of organic orchards and farms, providing residents and hotel guests with fresh produce.

Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Napa Valley, which is slated to open in early 2019 in Calistoga, California, will have its own vineyards and winery on site, led by renowned winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. Residence owners will be able to coordinate sessions with him to learn about and partake in harvesting, fermentation, blending and bottling. (The development was, fortunately, unharmed by the fires at the end of this year.)

And keep an eye out for “agrihoods” within buildings, too. At the recently opened 555 Vanderbilt in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, the developer, Forest City New York, partnered with Greenland USA to bring extra greenery and agriculture into the condo building. Units on the lower floors have window planters and there is a communal garden terrace with individual plots on the eighth floor. Olmsted, a nearby farm-to-table restaurant, will tend two of the terrace’s six large planters and also offer gardening lessons to residents.