The Reserve at Maybrook – Artful Amenities
MultiHousingPro
December 1, 2018
The newest mantra in multifamily real estate is amenities, amenities, amenities. A significant number of finalist communities in this year’s National Association of Homebuilders’ Pillars of the Industry competition include abundant features and services designed to attract and retain residents.
While dog parks, pool decks, community-wide WiFi, granite countertops, bike storage and repair areas and package delivery centers are becoming commonplace, apartment and condominium developers are challenged to add ever more innovative amenities to their communities.
Fine art stands out as one of the newest resident attractions in today’s multifamily world and a number of Pillars finalists have embraced this emerging trend.
The artwork that decorates the staircase in the historic Philadelphia-area mansion that has been transformed into a clubhouse for Maybrook, a finalist in Pillars’ best low-rise community category, reflects the history of the area.
Maybrook, a finalist in Pillars’ best low-rise community category, is likely the only apartment community in the country that can boast an art-filled historic mansion turned clubhouse as an amenity.
The 250-unit apartment community in Wynnewood, Penn., about nine miles northwest of Philadelphia, that was designed by Irvine, Calif.-based KTGY architects and developed by Jefferson Apartment Group of McLean, Va., and Haverford Properties of Narberth, Penn., includes the former Maybrook Mansion, an elegant home built in 1881, that has been converted to feature a lounge, billiard and poker room, bar, parlor, formal dining room and a ballroom for the residents’ enjoyment.
A prime example of Gilded Age craftsmanship, the 35-room mansion boasts an eclectic selection of art that references the area’s history and Philadelphia’s connection to the nation’s founders, including an abstract of George Washington in the lobby, quotes from the founding fathers in the mezzanine and a print of an early American settler taking a beer break in the bar.
In addition to the mansion, the newly constructed Maybrook community includes a double-volume club room, a living room adjacent to the leasing center, a mail room with an adjacent package room, a double-decker fitness center with a unique spiral staircase, a bar with billiard and shuffleboard, a mezzanine business center with computer stations, a community work table and power connections to support those who work from home and an indoor/outdoor kitchen.
Outdoor amenities include more than 30 acres of wooded area, a mile of walking trails, a restored Japanese garden, a paddle tennis court, a resort-style swimming pool with sun shelf, a picnic grove with Viking grills, a firepit, a dog park and a butterfly garden.
The apartments feature custom closets, under-cabinet lighting, quartz countertops, over-sized windows, pendant lights, stainless steel appliances, pantries, island and eat-in kitchens and in-unit washers and dryers.
