Luxury condo developers hope a ‘kids concierges’ and IMAX will lure families
Luxury real-estate developers in cities including New York, Miami and Los Angeles are designing buildings with a surprising thing in mind: children. Experts say that luxe, child-friendly amenities are all the rage in family-friendly neighborhoods like Tribeca and the Upper East Side in Manhattan, Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles, and Key Biscayne in Miami. And they’re not talking about drab playrooms. These amenities include everything from a “kid concierge” who organizes your child’s activities for you, to indoor mini soccer fields and “staff apartments” for au pairs and housekeepers to IMAX theaters and 3D gaming rooms. “Buildings are in an arms race to compete to appeal to kids,” says Leonard Steinberg of Compass Realty in New York City. Many young, and (of course) wealthy, families are now staying in the city to raise their children rather than heading out to the suburbs, Steinberg explains. Indeed, more than a million millennial women are becoming moms each year — and they and their partners often prefer the city. Millennials are living in urban areas at a higher rate than any other generation, and 40% say they plan to live in an urban area in the future, according to Nielsen. What’s more, millennials are the largest share of home buyers, at 36%, according to data released this year by the National Association of Realtors; and roughly half of buyers under age 37 have minors living under their roofs. Many also have money to burn on luxury buildings: One in six millennials has at least $100,000 saved, according to Bank of America.
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