While real estate is all about location, multifamily amenities are what drive leasing activity. In Silicon Valley, multifamily developers are having to take the extra step to add that one amenity that everyone is talking about. But the next big amenity does not always work.
“Bike storage works all the time, for sure, but we thought a shared bike repair shop would be really cool: three racks, tools, people can have conversations around their bikes,” Harmonie Park principal Don Capobres said during a recent Bisnow event in San Jose. “It’s been an utter failure in the projects we’ve implemented it. No one is using them.” He said Harmonie Park has 25 bike-share bikes in front of its building and tenants have used those more than a bike repair shop.
SummerHill Apartment Communities Executive Vice President and Managing Director Katia Kamangar said bike repair shops have not worked in SummerHill’s projects either. The same held true for Zipcar parking at some SummerHill properties. Zipcar was popular years ago, but most people use Uber and Lyft now, making those parking spots obsolete, she said.