As seen in an article in the Financial Times, 7 February 2009.
The sagging economy in the US is leading developers to find ever more outré amenities to juice sluggish sales. Take Manhattan’s 50 Franklin complex, for example: just off the main lobby there’s a 430 sq ft guest apartment that friends and family of building residents can rent by the night from the management. Come late spring, guests will be able to enjoy a hotel room-style pied-à-terre, complete with bathroom and kitchenette and kitted out with mid-century inspired Boconcept furniture. A family of four will spend just $100 per night, less than a quarter of the cost of a comparable hotel.
Nearby the 42-storey 75 Wall tower holds almost 350 apartments, each with access to a gym and media room. It’s the roof, though, that is the real draw. It has been turned into Hamptons-on-the-Hudson, an 8,000 sq ft outdoor oasis covered in sand that allows residents to avoid that traffic-clogged commute back from the beach each summer weekend. There are chaises longues, daybeds, hammocks, an outdoor grill and even a five-person hot tub.
Outside New York there’s less focus on hospitality than on health. In Atlanta’s Buckhead, the Mansion on Peachtree complex includes 24/7 on-call medical assistance in its monthly maintenance fees for all residents. That means a doctor from the MD On Call programme will zoom over to your apartment the instant you ask for at-home treatment. Residents can book at-home Botox sessions too.