People’s approaches towards how they want to live and work have shifted as the world embraces hybrid work. Live-Work-Play developments, where tenants have access to multiple work and entertainment facilities within their residences, are a rising trend.
Even though more people are working from home, there’s more interest in workspaces that don’t require commuting. Developers are starting to take note and incorporate coworking spaces, offices and meeting rooms into residencies. Amenities for entertainment, such as an event room or a spa, are growing in demand as people spend more time at home and want increased services an elevator ride away.
A recent report from RentCafe with data from YardiMatrix shows that live-work-play properties have quadrupled in the past ten years. Only 2% of all apartments in 2011, Live-Work-Play properties now make up 10% of apartments in 2022. Live-Work-Play developments are most popular in urban cities where space is tight and renters value convenience.
Here are five of the top cities embracing this trend, along with details on some of the up-and-coming Live-Work-Play developments being built in each one.
Manhattan takes the lead for the area with the most apartments in Live-Work-Play buildings, and Brooklyn takes second place. Together the two boroughs dominate the Live-Work-Play market with over 122,600 apartments. That’s nearly six times more than the number of apartments in the third top city, Washington DC, which has 20,500.
Austin Nichols House is one example in Brooklyn offering tons of opportunities for entertainment experiences on the property, including a waterfront esplanade, rooftop sundeck, zen garden, courtyard and fitness center. There is also an entire floor devoted to a coworking space. “Especially during the pandemic, the greatest asset this building has compared to others is the work from home space,” Chrisitan Haag, a member of the Austin Nichols House sales team told lev.co back in April.
Willoughby, a 34-story luxury rental building in Downtown Brooklyn is another example. The building’s 22nd floor is home to a co-working space with a conference room, work-from-home stations and a private entertaining room. The ground floor offers unique amenities that extend beyond work, from a pet spa to a coffee bar and various seating areas.
Read our coverage of Austin Nichols House and more here
Washington DC is the city making the most strides in the live-work-play scene in the past decade. The city has the most apartments completed in the last ten years.
Perhaps the project that most represents live-work-play in DC is not a building, but what is planned to be a whole neighborhood. The Stacks broke ground in May 2022, a neighborhood project of over six acres that will include more than 1,100 rental apartment units and approximately 35,000 square feet of retail. Designed to function as a neighborhood inside DC’s Southwest Waterfront, it includes parks, landscape plazas, art programs, exhibits and more that will serve the residents and the neighborhood at large.
“The project has a unique design that focuses on bringing residents and visitors together in public spaces, and it will be an outstanding place for gathering, living, working, and playing,” Akridge President Matt Klein, a joint owner of the project, said in a statement.
While DC has made the most strides in live-work-play, Los Angeles ranked highest as the city with the most upcoming LWP projects. The city has 17,600 apartment buildings in mixed-use buildings either completed, under construction or planned for construction in 2022.
Brio Apartments is an amenity-heavy luxury apartment located in Glendale. Like many other apartments in the luxury residential space, this one offers a courtyard, pool, lounge, conference room, a pet play area and more.
Brio Apartments goes an extra step to offer its residents as many amenities as possible. The sister location, Next on Lex is located a mile away. Residents can have access to all the amenities on that property, too, including a massage room and video arcade.
After Los Angeles, Miami is the second city with the most up-and-coming LWP projects. There are 15,900 apartments either completed, under construction or planned for construction in 2022 in Miami.
One example is URBIN, a new live-work-play community with two condominiums in South Florida that will break ground by the end of the year. The two locations, URBIN Coconut Grove and URBIN Miami Beach, will have residential units, a coworking space and plenty of experiences for entertainment, including a wellness center and retail. As part of the vision to serve the community at large, URBIN’s coworking facilities will be available to non-residents. The architecture also incorporates outdoor areas with plenty of terraces and balconies, as well as a rooftop deck with a pool.
Read more of our coverage of URBIN here
A city known for its architecture, Chicago is another hub for live-work-play properties, ranked the fifth city with the most apartments in live-work-play buildings.
Wolf Point East was originally planned and approved as a mixed-use space in 2013, but was then re-envisioned as a residential space in 2016. For residents, living here is like having the city at your fingertips — all under the same roof. A full-service coworking office gives residents access to meeting rooms, a study area and a lounge. When it comes to entertainment, an indoor and outdoor pool with sun terrace, a golf simulator and a fitness club that covers a whole floor are just a few of the amenities and services the building offers.
