‘Wellness’ Amenities Juice Up Properties
A growing niche for homes and offices
Article Provided by the Los Angeles Business Journal | Hannah Madans
To Your Health: The $12.2 million Wellness House in Beverly Hills comes with fresh juice and a yoga instructor.
One of the hottest new homes on the market in Beverly Hills is a 6,300-square-foot, six-bedroom modern retreat — and it comes with three months of fresh cold-pressed juice delivery twice a week, three months of in-home yoga instruction, a Scandinavian hydrotherapy spa and a virtual personal trainer built into a mirror.
The $12.2 million property is just one of many on the market that have been outfitted explicitly for buyers interested in personal health and wellness.
The number of wellness-oriented properties has grown 6.4% annually since 2015, according to the Global Wellness Institute. Last year, the global wellness real estate market was a $134 billion industry, and that’s expected to grow to $180 billion by 2022, the Global Wellness Institute estimates.
The trend isn’t limited to residential real estate.
“Wellness real estate is any kind of apartments, homes, communities designed with the intent to have a positive impact on human health,” said Beth McGroarty, director of research and public relations at the Global Wellness Institute.
“It’s not just about adding a spa or a gym, which every middle- to high-end new development will have,” she said. “It’s more holistic than that.”
Some properties come with features like infrared saunas and air purification, McGroarty said.
It’s also now possible to have properties certified for their wellness attributes — similar to LEED certification, which ranks buildings and communities on energy and water use, CO2 emissions and other environmental impacts.
The WELL Building Standard, launched in 2014, rates buildings on how they improve human comfort, enhance health and “drive better choices,” according to the International WELL Building Institute website.
Rochelle Maize, the agent behind the Beverly Hills Wellness House, said the features entice a certain kind of buyer.
“You are seeing more perks on the higher end, and you will continue to see them as technology continues to change and becomes more competitive,” she said.
A healthy lifestyle
Remedy Place, a social club with a wellness focus, will open in West Hollywood in October. The club will be equipped with a hyperbaric chamber, cryotherapy and vitamin IVs. Jonathan Leary, a “holistic wellness” doctor, is leading development of the club.
Wellness isn’t just for the rich and famous. According to Ben Katz, chief executive of Venice-based Haven Coliving, the company opened its first location in Venice two months ago and has had more than 2,500 people apply for 100 spots in the community — where residents rent a bed and share common areas.
Those common spaces include a yoga studio and meditation areas, and members of the community take part in shared vegan dining. The concept has attracted investments from Angelo Gordon & Co.’s Steve White, Justin Bieber and designer Charles Infante.
Katz said most people who live in the house work in wellness professions.
“People are searching for a connection,” Katz said. “I think in a city, and especially Los Angeles, modern living can be isolating.”
Haven has closed a seed round of more than $1 million, which it will use to expand. Haven runs four coliving houses and plans to have a total of 10 by the end of this year.
“Health and wellness is a really huge trend, possibly even the religion of our times,” Katz said.
Perks at work
Even offices are getting in on the wellness trend.
CBRE Group Inc.’s downtown headquarters building has received WELL certification. The office offers “hydration stations” with fruit-infused “spa water.” It has installed high-powered air purification and acoustic dampening walls as well as lights that adjust their brightness, color and temperature based on how much sunlight is coming in from outside. The lights are intended to maintain certain levels of melatonin to make workers more productive. CBRE also offers onsite classes on healthy eating and massages.
“Wellness in the workplace is vital to … enhancing employee engagement,” said Andrew Ratner, senior managing director who oversees CBRE’s downtown office.
Cork material installed underneath the flooring offers lumbar support. Special UV lights ensure no spot is left untouched when the office is being cleaned.
Ratner said many of CBRE’s clients are considering similar features in their own properties.
Jennifer Frisk, a Senior Managing Director at Newmark Knight Frank, said many businesses have added things like standing desks, yoga studios and healthy food options at their offices.
“It’s a way of life, especially in L.A.,” Frisk said. “Most people here are starting to embrace it as part of their culture.”
The more wellness features pop up in offices and other properties, the more it becomes the new standard, she added. “Landlords have to do it to complete — it’s a snowball effect.”.