Better Living Through WELL? Wellness Real Estate Floats Into Philly
It’s the immortal dilemma: we all want to be healthier, but actually living healthy is a lot of effort. Balancing the quotidian stresses of work/school, family, and normal, everyday “stuff” with eating well, taking one’s vitamins, and getting sufficient sleep can sometimes feel like a superhuman task. Wouldn’t it be swell if your home was smart enough to help you out – if greater wellness was, so to say, essentially programmed into your domicile’s DNA? Delos, a Manhattan-based real estate firm, thinks so. They are the firm behind wellness real estate and WELL home certification, concepts that meld green living with a healthy dose of owner-pampering amenities. The pros at Delos believe their patented building standard can actually make inhabitants healthier… and they are bringing the feel-good to Philly.
“Wellness homes” like this one by Delos are a rising trend in real estate, but are the benefits worth the extra cha-ching? Photo by Delos.
Collegians at St. Joseph’s University have a revolutionary opportunity to participate in the first big rollout of wellness living in the City of Brotherly Love. After all, college is a stressful time (and everyone knows young adults’ recreational habits don’t tend to go hand-in-hand with optimal health). For an extra $125 in rent every month, residents of the planned WELL Signature Suites apartments at the Legacy at Drexel Arms dormitory can experience amenities designed to keep their minds sharp and their bodies feeling great. The furnished apartments, meant to house four students, feature premium air filtration, shower heads infused with aloe and vitamin C, blackout curtains in the bedrooms, ergonomically-designed flooring, and a host of other touchy-feely features. Delos posits health perks ranging from better, more restful sleep to more perfect posture and a more relaxed mood. Aromatherapy systems scent the air with the calming fragrance of lavender, top-grade filters top the taps, and juicers are integrated into the kitchen so students can whip up their morning Green Monster with nary a moment of extra work.
When they first moved in on Manhattan’s ultra-competitive real estate market, Delos boasted that their wellness-based approach to building could make folks live longer. Does wellness real estate represent the future of people-friendly homes, or is it all a load of phooey? Time will tell, we reckon. Would you kick up a higher monthly rent for what WELL certification has to offer? Sound off in the comments.
