Whenever I ask property managers why they place fitness centers in their complexes, the most common response is "to support the leasing effort." These operators, in other words, use their fitness centers to persuade prospective tenants to sign leases and to encourage existing occupants to renew.

The fitness center, while contributing significantly in the mission of leasing units, actually serves to complete the image of a full-service residential community. Therefore, many property managers consider it is just as important to put a strong effort into the development and upkeep of the fitness center as it is to invest in the front entrance, social lounge, patio/pool area and other highly-visible, highly-valued amenities.

To successfully utilize an apartment fitness center as part of a club house amenity package that supports the leasing effort, property managers should adhere to a few basic guidelines:

Following is the rationale behind each of these very important guidelines.

·                                 Select Leading Name Brands of Equipment: A fitness center that contains the best brands WILL support the image of an apartment complex that strives to provide the best for its tenants. Even if tight budgetary constraints exist, select the leading brands.

Look to the major health clubs to determine which brands and specific models lead the industry. Those that dominate in health clubs will be likely to create a positive impression on prospective tenants. Chances are that the upscale rental tenant either belongs to a major health club or did at one time. The brands they know and/or recall from their club experiences can factor into their apartment complex decision.

Another reason for selecting the leading brands is reliability. Broken equipment can be costly for a health club in terms of customer satisfaction and repair costs. Accordingly, large clubs tend to purchase equipment with very high reliability rates. The same issues apply even more critically to the resident services departments at apartment complexes.

Three objective sources of information can provide information about leading brands of treadmills, exercise bicycles, stair climbers and elliptical cross trainers - the products most commonly placed in apartment complexes. Only multi-station gyms, which also commonly appear in apartment complexes, do not have a strong presence in health clubs.

The three sources of information are:

In the end, the image conveyed by a multi-family residential property that equips a fitness center with leading brands of equipment will support the property's leasing efforts.

·                                 RENT Commercial Equipment Only: The two classes of exercise equipment are commercial and residential. There are three main reasons to purchase commercial equipment:

All too often property managers succumb to cost pressures and representations by fitness equipment distributors that products designed for residential use are adequate for apartment complex fitness centers. Do not make this mistake. The savings of a few hundred dollars from purchasing residential equipment instead of commercial equipment pales in comparison to the expense associated with a successful legal action against the property manager, or the ongoing expense of maintaining, and ultimately replacing, residential equipment that was placed inappropriately into your fitness center.

Considerations include the size of the community, the demographic mix of the tenant population, the market positioning of the community and/or property manager, the configuration of the room, available funds and any special needs.

·                                 Keep Equipment Up-to-Date; Periodically Replace Items or Add Pieces: The image of the community, and the influence that image will exert on the ongoing leasing and lease renewal efforts, requires property managers to periodically replace and/or add to the equipment in their facilities. New product developments occur regularly, and entirely new product categories (e.g. the elliptical cross-trainer) are occasionally introduced. Upscale tenants will appreciate the efforts put forth by property managers to keep the facility up-to-date.

·                                 A fully equipped apartment fitness facility can cost anywhere from $20,000 to over $40,000. RENTING the same thing for $599 a month is a smart investment.

Today's astute property managers, large and small, are effectively utilizing amenities packages that include fitness facilities to maximize the value of their leasing efforts, and hence their returns on investment and assets deployed.