1. NEIGHBOR RETREATS are the next step in the evolution of “community building”. From apple picking, to group fitness, and even ski retreats, luxury buildings are offering neighbors unprecedented access to socialize. The big question is whether or not participation will lead to meaningful interaction.
2. DOMINO SUGAR FACTORY is the talk of Williamsburg. Two Trees Management has already delivered a 522-unit multifamily building with 105 units set aside as affordable housing, and when the development's full build-out is completed at some point in the 2020s, it will contain an estimated 2,800 apartments with 700 of them affordable.
3. APPLE SEEDS offers an indoor playground, classes, birthday parties, and a cool space just to hang out. They even have a hair salon for children. Look for developer collaborations and “activated” spaces like this as the new must have family amenity.
4. NEWARK has been officially tapped by the state of New Jersey for their Amazon HQ2 bid. With an 18-minute train commute to New York, and office rents a third of the cost across the river, the dark horse candidate could surge ahead. Don’t forget the immediate area has some of the fastest broadband internet in the country due to the Eastern Seaboard's fiber optic network.
5. PERK CARDS are added value that residents never ask for, but grow to love and take advantage of. For instance, The Forge provides their residents with a Perk Card that offers access to the SculptureCenter, a contemporary art museum across the street, not to mention invitations to receptions and special events all free of charge.
6. RETAIL GOING RESIDENTIAL is starting to actually take shape. A developer in South Florida wants to demolish a section of the Village Shoppes of Pine Plaza and replace it with a three-story, 288-unit luxury apartment complex. This would be a first for Broward County and potentially the spark that replaces the glut of outdated shopping centers in Florida with multi-family housing.
7. THE MINE is the latest furniture company to use Apple’s ARkit, a new framework that allows you to easily create “unparalleled augmented reality experiences” for iPhone and iPad. The app provides for a seamless, high-touch shopping experience that’s intended to build customer confidence before you buy.
8. VESSEL is all the rage at Hudson Yards. A project with such outsized expectations is starting to develop a personality with Thomas Heatherwick’s geometric lattice of intersecting flights of stairs. The painted steel frame will rise from a 50-foot diameter base and widen at the top to 150 feet, with an underside clad with a polished copper-colored skin.
9. KIPS BAY might not be an “anonymous neighborhood” for much more time. Increasingly affluent and diverse, you’ll find better-than-average schools, some of the last vestiges of mom-and-pop retail, and likely a very quick commute to work. Explore the fresh crop of new developments where you can own at The Lindley or rent at House39 or Frontier.
10. REAL ESTATE TECH will see the rise of transaction-engagement focused experiences and services. This will include Chatbots, apps designed to simulate conversation with human users and Blockchain, a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography.