NY Area Luxury Buildings with Unique Amenities

Image Credit: The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria

Written by Breck Hapner

Today, more than ever, new luxury developments are focusing on amenities and services outside of typical gratuities, such as state-of-the-art fitness centers, opulent private spas, starlight pools, and private parking. What could these be, you might ask?

A good question, and the answer is that certain New York buildings are now offering completely unique amenities to their residents. Two stand-out examples are the Towers of the Waldorf-Astoria concierge closet, offering hotel-level contactless service, and the Flatiron House, providing self-watering loggias for custom plants.

Image Credit: Flatiron House

The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria - Concierge Closet

The recent renovation of the iconic Waldorf-Astoria hotel on Park Avenue resulted in the creation of well-appointed luxury living units. The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria New York now offers condominiums for residents, along with access to many exclusive, private amenities and best-in-class services previously found only at the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel.

In addition to private entrances, 24/7 doormen, and a dedicated solutions and security team, other carefully considered elements, designed by Jean-Louis Deniot, were incorporated into the new Tower of condominiums to enhance the living experience while minimizing the intersections of public, private, and service spaces. One of these special upgrades was the concierge closet.

In the interest of good planning that enhances resident comfort, Deniot preserved the principle of axes: each foyer acting as an anchor, and off each foyer was built a discreet, seamlessly integrated concierge closet, a portal which can serve multiple functions with one door facing the hallway, and another serving the entry space of the apartment.

As you can imagine, in terms of maintaining privacy and social distancing while preserving absolute convenience, the concierge closet is truly a marvelous amenity. Residents can enjoy the secure and contactless delivery of packages, laundry, and room service. All items deposited into the concierge closet generate a notification from a dedicated team of porters 24/7, but without any personal interaction.

Therefore, residents never have to stop at the building hotel lobby front desk to accept packages or drop off dry cleaning: it will be at their home, waiting for them. The concierge closet elevates the service level for every apartment in the Towers, and definitely fits within the luxury parameters of the Waldorf-Astoria.

Image Credit: The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria

Flatiron House - Irrigated Loggias

No, it isn’t a novelty. Having access to real greenery is now considered an important amenity for luxury developments within New York City. Manhattan residents have long been frustrated, growing tired of being alienated from a more organic environmental lifestyle because of their choice of apartment.

But that itchy brown and grey issue has thoroughly been turned a radiant green by the new condos in the Flatiron District NYC luxury tower, which, among other things, boast self-irrigating gardens. This new property “reconnects” residents with a more natural world, bringing the outside in via biophilic design principles, which include nature in the space, nature of the space, and natural analogues, all referring to the direct presence of nature reflected in all interactions. These guiding principles promote health, well-being and the nourishing symbiosis of indoor/outdoor living.

Flatiron House was designed by Cookfox Architects, a leader in biophilic design. The terra-cotta-and-glass structure was developed by Anbau, featuring greenery from a series of irrigated loggias extending up the facades. Two distinct buildings, the Tower on 23rd Street, and the loft on 24th street, are connected by a shared interior garden that join a total of 44 residences. This lush garden in the midst of the city also prescribes to biophilic design principles, providing a truly peaceful green focal point and organic natural refuge containing flowering plants and trees.

As mentioned above, most of the newly constructed units will come outfitted with gardens set on deep loggias which will possess self-watering irrigation systems to allow plants to flourish and sprout through each Juliet balcony’s latticework, with perforated railings that serve as trellises. Talk about furthering a “green” DNA landscaping philosophy!

Designed in collaboration with Brooklyn-based landscape architect Future Green Studio, available plant species that come with each condo acquisition include alpine strawberry, lowbush blueberry, lavender, oregano, periwinkle, and thyme to contribute to cuisine as well as inform sensory memory with natural scents, contributing to the close and palpable connection to nature.

Image Credit: Flatiron House

The Definition of Measurable Quality

It is all about improving the quality of life for residents by providing innovative and ingenious ways to make their day-to-day existence better. Today, luxury developments are seriously upping the ante to stand apart from competitors with superior lifestyle services and solutions.

Sounds easy, but there is a lot of work behind the simplest upgrades. Upper-echelon buyers like thoughtful and meaningful amenities that enhance their daily living experience. The concierge closets offered by the Towers of the Waldorf Astoria, and the irrigated loggias provided by Flatiron House are both positive luxury development amenities worthy of note.

Image Credit: Flatiron House