Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Branded Spaces

Urbanation had a conversation with Amy Veneer of the Globe and Mail last week and we discussed condominium fitness rooms - we were so intrigued by the conversation, we decided to blog about it. Amy brought to our attention that The Benchmark Group has already begun branding condo fitness rooms under the banner “Movement Haus”, and has added a number of Toronto's top developers.

The Benchmark Group has started providing consulting services to developers, architects and interior designers at the outset of the project to help properly design and equip the fitness amenities. The principal of The Benchmark Group Mark Stables (through his days as a personal trainer) realized that many condo fitness rooms were ill-equipped, poorly lit, poorly ventilated and poorly laid out. It might be worthwile to look out for Movement Haus branded fitness rooms in upcoming condo projects.

The branding of everything within a condo is the natural next step, as the market is ultra competitive (there were 286 active condominium apartment projects in the Toronto CMA at the end of Q4-2010 according to Urbanation's Condominium Market Survey), and developers need to set their project apart from the competition.

Many projects boast their all star team of consultants, be it a Baker Real Estate or Milborne Real Estate for the sales, Architects Alliance or Page + Steele/IBI Group Architects for the building design, Cecconi Simone or Brian Gluckstein for the interiors, or LA Ads or Montana Steele for the advertising. Many projects have even advertised the furniture used in common areas, be it Armani Casa or pieces from the Art Shoppe. Developers want to associate their name with these trusted brands, so purchasers can be assured of the quality and service that these brands have previously delivered.

Will we soon have a branded service firm that handles the concierge services? How about your guest suite managed by the W Hotel Condo Group? How about the games room brought to you by Dave & Busters? How about the Theatre room brought to you by AMC or Cineplex - could happen?

If these branded spaces do happen, trust that Urbanation will be there to track them!


1 comment:

  1. Today, a condo development project can effectively capture our unique tastes and lifestyle with the adoption of emerging aesthetics and culture that define the current trends in modern home developments.

    Toronto Condominiums

    ReplyDelete