Lessons Learned About Outdoor Amenities

SAN DIEGO—Providing amenities that satisfy all residents' needs and that are cost effective can present challenges in luxury multifamily community development and management, Sudberry Properties' SVP Marco Sessa tells Globest.com. West Park, Sudberry's new 612-unit luxury apartment community in Civita, was the top winner in San Diego Building Industry Association's recent Icon Awards. The community was honored as “Attached Community of the Year” and won the top awards for architecture, landscape architecture, leasing environment and advertising/digital marketing. Designed by Newman Garrison + Partners, West Park was honored in the “Best Architectural Design–Multifamily Residences” category and was praised for its stylish contemporary design, extensive recreational amenities and park-like setting. The property was also honored for “Best Landscape Design–Multi-Family Residences.” Lifescapes International Inc., designed West Park's resort-like landscaping that includes a trio of pool areas, a private park, a half-mile jogging trail and exercise stations.

We spoke exclusively with Sessa about outdoor amenities in luxury communities and some of the mistakes from which he and his firm have learned.

GlobeSt.com: How important are outdoor amenities in luxury multifamily communities?

Sessa: They're particularly important for larger communities. They allow residents to have a little bit lower price point because the unit is smaller, but still have the opportunity to do things they wouldn't be able to do inside their units. For example, West Park offers demonstration kitchens, outdoor heating and large tables for hosting dinner parties. We spent an awful lot of time thinking through that component of the project. Once you've designed the inside of the unit, it's repetitive, but amenities have a life of their own. We do our best to try to provide amenities that have a lot of variety. Each pool has a different attitude. One may be louder and rowdier, one more of an exercise pool for laps and other quieter, where you can sit at the pool and take a nap or read a book. One pool plays music that you can hear underwater. We really try, from landscape design to paving materials to furniture, to think through the programing and how they want to operate.

GlobeSt.com: What elements are necessary for outdoor features to be successful in this setting?

Sessa: Ideally, they engage residents' social aspect. Most of our amenities, we want them to have the ability to host different functions and to be multi-use, suitable for a wedding shower, a birthday party or a simple barbecue—this brings residents together. We also wanted to also support some of the programing we do with events. We have cooking classes every two weeks, where people can sign up, meet their neighbors and learn how to cook at the demo kitchen and barbecue outside next to pool. At the pool, we want them to have the ability to do a lot of different things. Some have cabanas with CDs in them and music; some have outdoor pool tables. You're not just going to one place to do one thing; you have a lot of different options, and that provides the opportunity for different demographics to come together and make friends. They're more likely to stay and renew their leases.

GlobeSt.com: What are the drawbacks to developing outdoor amenities in multifamily?

Sessa: We also own Circa 37 Apartments, across from West Park. There's a really neat pool there where residents could control the music. The problem is there have been disagreements because people like different types of music. There was a scenario where music was being played that had bad words, and moms with kids were there—it created a bad vibe. We had to remove that feature and play music that was down the middle. You're trying to balance what everyone likes, but not everyone likes the same thing. This was part of the reason for doing pools with different flavors; you're congregating together, and you can't do that unless you have scale.

Also, if you have pool furniture with cushions, you may be having to replace those cushions once a year because suntan lotion creates stains, and the last thing you want is an amenity that doesn't look nice. You need to budget enough money so the operation works correctly and they look brand-new year round. Another issue with amenities is their hours of operation. Even with the rowdier pools, there are still people living around those, and you need to respect that and ensure you don't have people at midnight making a racket and annoying other residents.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about West Park?

Sessa: One of the coolest things about West Park is its fitness facility. There's no question in my mind that you can live there and not pay for a gym membership. We run and operate classes; a group exercise room with spinning and Pilates and different yoga classes; a two-story climbing wall—it's as nice as any commercial gym around. I was there today and there were 20 to 25 people using the facility. A community that has an emphasis on amenities for everyone is important.

Steady gains in the US economy have resulted in net positives for the multifamily sector—will this wave continue for the foreseeable future? What's driving development and capital flows? Join us at RealShare Apartments on October 19 & 20 for impactful information from the leaders in the National multifamily space. Learn more.

SAN DIEGO—Providing amenities that satisfy all residents' needs and that are cost effective can present challenges in luxury multifamily community development and management, Sudberry Properties' SVP Marco Sessa tells Globest.com. West Park, Sudberry's new 612-unit luxury apartment community in Civita, was the top winner in San Diego Building Industry Association's recent Icon Awards. The community was honored as “Attached Community of the Year” and won the top awards for architecture, landscape architecture, leasing environment and advertising/digital marketing. Designed by Newman Garrison + Partners, West Park was honored in the “Best Architectural Design–Multifamily Residences” category and was praised for its stylish contemporary design, extensive recreational amenities and park-like setting. The property was also honored for “Best Landscape Design–Multi-Family Residences.” Lifescapes International Inc., designed West Park's resort-like landscaping that includes a trio of pool areas, a private park, a half-mile jogging trail and exercise stations.

We spoke exclusively with Sessa about outdoor amenities in luxury communities and some of the mistakes from which he and his firm have learned.

GlobeSt.com: How important are outdoor amenities in luxury multifamily communities?

Sessa: They're particularly important for larger communities. They allow residents to have a little bit lower price point because the unit is smaller, but still have the opportunity to do things they wouldn't be able to do inside their units. For example, West Park offers demonstration kitchens, outdoor heating and large tables for hosting dinner parties. We spent an awful lot of time thinking through that component of the project. Once you've designed the inside of the unit, it's repetitive, but amenities have a life of their own. We do our best to try to provide amenities that have a lot of variety. Each pool has a different attitude. One may be louder and rowdier, one more of an exercise pool for laps and other quieter, where you can sit at the pool and take a nap or read a book. One pool plays music that you can hear underwater. We really try, from landscape design to paving materials to furniture, to think through the programing and how they want to operate.

GlobeSt.com: What elements are necessary for outdoor features to be successful in this setting?

Sessa: Ideally, they engage residents' social aspect. Most of our amenities, we want them to have the ability to host different functions and to be multi-use, suitable for a wedding shower, a birthday party or a simple barbecue—this brings residents together. We also wanted to also support some of the programing we do with events. We have cooking classes every two weeks, where people can sign up, meet their neighbors and learn how to cook at the demo kitchen and barbecue outside next to pool. At the pool, we want them to have the ability to do a lot of different things. Some have cabanas with CDs in them and music; some have outdoor pool tables. You're not just going to one place to do one thing; you have a lot of different options, and that provides the opportunity for different demographics to come together and make friends. They're more likely to stay and renew their leases.

GlobeSt.com: What are the drawbacks to developing outdoor amenities in multifamily?

Sessa: We also own Circa 37 Apartments, across from West Park. There's a really neat pool there where residents could control the music. The problem is there have been disagreements because people like different types of music. There was a scenario where music was being played that had bad words, and moms with kids were there—it created a bad vibe. We had to remove that feature and play music that was down the middle. You're trying to balance what everyone likes, but not everyone likes the same thing. This was part of the reason for doing pools with different flavors; you're congregating together, and you can't do that unless you have scale.

Also, if you have pool furniture with cushions, you may be having to replace those cushions once a year because suntan lotion creates stains, and the last thing you want is an amenity that doesn't look nice. You need to budget enough money so the operation works correctly and they look brand-new year round. Another issue with amenities is their hours of operation. Even with the rowdier pools, there are still people living around those, and you need to respect that and ensure you don't have people at midnight making a racket and annoying other residents.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about West Park?

Sessa: One of the coolest things about West Park is its fitness facility. There's no question in my mind that you can live there and not pay for a gym membership. We run and operate classes; a group exercise room with spinning and Pilates and different yoga classes; a two-story climbing wall—it's as nice as any commercial gym around. I was there today and there were 20 to 25 people using the facility. A community that has an emphasis on amenities for everyone is important.

Steady gains in the US economy have resulted in net positives for the multifamily sector—will this wave continue for the foreseeable future? What's driving development and capital flows? Join us at RealShare Apartments on October 19 & 20 for impactful information from the leaders in the National multifamily space. Learn more.