Really Move-In Ready

Aktiv, the fitness center at the Residences on the Avenue, has a separate group exercise room. Classes are held there and in other community spaces.

Anyone headed to Aktiv, the newest gym in Foggy Bottom, can first stop in the lounge to grab a bottle of water and a towel. Those are both complimentary services for members, who’ll need them while taking advantage of the facility’s top-of-the-line equipment. If there isn’t a class in the separate exercise studio, they’re welcome to pop in a DVD to get instruction over the screen. And if they need a rubdown after their cooldown, they can book a massage in the adjoining spa.

How much does it cost to be a member of such a health club? Try $2,800 a month or more. That’s because it comes along with an apartment at the Residences on the Avenue, the 335-unit high-rise atop the recently opened Whole Foods.

“We wanted to make sure we fit into the lifestyle of our demographic,” says property manager David Raley, who describes residents as mostly college students and professionals. “They take care of themselves.”

Apartment gyms aren’t exactly a new phenomenon, but in recent years, they’ve evolved from cramped, basement rooms into full-fledged fitness centers that often come with gorgeous views. It hasn’t always been intentional, notes Debbie Kaplan of Urban Igloo, a local apartment finder service. Many of the nicest gyms are in buildings that were originally designed to be condos, but converted to apartments when the market tanked.

The row of treadmills at Flats 130’s gym overlooks the development in NoMa.

That still leaves plenty of fancy gyms that were always meant to be in rental buildings, however. And having them makes sense to Sally Matheu, group vice president of operations for Archstone, which operates 44 properties in the D.C. area. “It’s the most used amenity,” she says. It’s also an extra selling point because when the equipment and space is up to residents’ standards, they don’t need to spend money on a gym membership.

Several Archstone buildings have gyms worth bragging about, Matheu says. But nothing compares to what will be in its community in NoMa, scheduled to open next year. For 400 apartments, there will be 24 pieces of cardio equipment.

To get a sense of how massive that is, head to Flats 130, a not-quite-year-old building across the street. It boasts a two-story fitness center with 17 pieces of cardio equipment, tons of weights and a yoga studio with a ballet barre. “Usually, they’re speechless. They can’t believe it,” leasing associate Tony Lucadamo says of prospective renters’ reactions when he shows them around.

It’s impressed some copycats, too. Another development in the neighborhood, Washington Gateway, just announced that it would also feature a two-story gym in its apartment complex.

But if you’re wondering what it’s like to have 24-hour access to these places, don’t ask James Williams, who lives at the Residences on the Avenue. The 21-year-old GW student doesn’t go to the fitness center — at least, not that one. “It’s nice, but it’s kind of small,” he said while walking out of the building on his way to the school gym.