Adding a Fitness Center with Classes Can Add Up to Higher Rents at Your Multifamily in Mid-City

Ever noticed the sheer amount of people who exercise outside? I’ll wager a buffalo nickel that if you got in your car right now and drove the neighborhood, you’ll come across someone on a jog, riding a bike, holding tree pose, or doing Tai Chi within a matter of minutes. In fact, during a recent drive through Mid-City Los Angeles, I saw a group of people doing what I later learned was capoeira—that Brazilian hybrid of dance and martial arts.

The whole thing made me wonder.

Are property owners leaving money on the table by not using fitness centers to their full potential?

I think so.

A Closer Look at the Numbers

On average, over 58,000,000 Americans use a gym or go to a health club each year. When it comes to Los Angeles, residents spend an average of $69 a month on a gym or health club facility. But what if they had a fitness center with a variety of specialized classes available at home?

Studies have been done, and the results determined that fitness instruction classes are the most in-demand “unconventional” amenity that multifamily units can offer, with 46% of renters willing to pay extra to have them.

So the evidence is there: if you build it, they will come.

A Good Return on Investment

Consider this: a tenant pays $69 a month to attend a gym nearby. He is considering moving into your complex, and then he sees your brand new fitness studio with all the extra additions for the classes you offer. The decision for the tenant is easy. He can cancel his gym membership and move into a unit and feel that he got a great deal, regardless of price.

Having invested in the build to include extra spaces for fitness classes, you can now see an immediate return by offering an alternative to monthly gym memberships that can cost upwards of hundreds of dollars a month!

And Don’t Be Afraid to Kick It Up a Notch

But just having a fitness studio with a bunch of mats and mirrors might not be enough, and hiring and scheduling instructors can quickly eat into those profits you’ve gained. But if you’ve been to a gym lately, you might have noticed people working out to virtual programs in front of flat screen TVs. It’s a popular trend that allows users to follow a routine specifically designed for their level of comfort, when they have time.

These On-Demand Fitness Kiosks are sleek, touchscreen computers that are mounted on a wall in the fitness space that allow users to select from a variety of pre-loaded routines. Users can select from workouts like:

Yoga

Boxing

Stretching

Aerobics

Plyometrics

Pilates

Zumba

And pretty much anything else you can imagine

You may be asking if it’s really necessary. Well, consider this: a recent study claims that “77% of millennials want interaction in their fitness such as apps, games, music and more.” And with millennials making up 48% of all 18+ regular exercisers who do gym activity, this is a group you cannot overlook.

How REIG Can Help

REIG is your one-stop-shop when it comes to all things related to your multifamily renovation, with over 120 combined years of experience among our team. Now that you’re considering expanding your fitness studio to host an array of new classes, you can rest assured that we can tackle every aspect of the build with a limited amount of disruption to your tenants. No project is too big, and I promise that we will bring in on time and on budget. Reach out to us today, and we can “work out” your fitness center renovation—no sweat.