Does wellness sell?
Absolutely and the evidence abounds. Just research the listings at Realtor.com, as the Wall Street Journal recently did. They found East Coast listings featuring wellness commanded a 39 percent price premium versus those without. West Coast listings? The wellness differential soars to a staggering 72 percent.
Not only does wellness sell, it can serve as a tiebreaker with competing properties. But for real estate developer Rishi Kapoor, the premium is just a happy by-product of a larger vision to make a positive impact on the individual and community through nature, technology, and wellness.
“There’s always the question, ‘Is it worth the extra investment?’ My answer is yes if you have the courage and vision to develop a product that is better and meaningful,” says Kapoor.
Villa Valencia
Kapoor’s courage and vision will soon be on display at 515 Valencia Avenue in Coral Gables, Fla. His real estate investment company, Location Ventures, broke ground last summer on Villa Valencia, a 13-story luxury condo community. The property features 39 estate-sized residences starting at $1.65 million.
Villa Valencia may be one of the most wellness-engaged condominium properties in America, offering a unique living environment that seamlessly integrates air purification, water filtration, circadian lighting, and wellness intelligence.
This investment is helping the property gain quick traction: Pricing has topped $1,000 per square foot, a record for any non-waterfront Miami property, according to Kapoor. “The pricing speaks to value. We offer residences and a lifestyle that nobody has seen before,” he says.
Wellness Vision
“This is a social mission for me,” Kapoor says. “The majority of people spend about 90 percent of their time indoors. You’re dealing with artificial light, mechanically-ventilated air systems, and water that has traveled some distance through aquifers, pipes, and various treatment plants.” The technology now exists to easily and speedily manage wellness protocols, remediation strategies, and therapeutic scenes zone-by-zone throughout the residence.
Exhibit A is a home wellness intelligence platform called DARWIN from Delos, the wellness real estate and technology company that founded the WELL Building Standard. DARWIN is both a hardware and software platform. The system is constantly monitoring, calibrating and enhancing air, water and lighting conditions to help improve health and well-being.
“For example, if a cleaning product releases contaminants that might harm your child or grandchild or if an airborne pollutant enters the home and causes an allergic reaction, DARWIN will detect the pollutant and remediate the air,” explains Kapoor.
DARWIN is featured in all Villa Valencia condo units. For Kapoor, the appeal of DARWIN isn’t about gee-whiz wellness technology. The wow factor is how it all comes together with unprecedented elegance, simplicity, and performance. “It all makes sense,” observes Kapoor.
Wellness 2.0
“Our buyers are looking for something that enhances their day-to-day life without requiring some big, cumbersome system. We want to be on the leading edge of the healthiest living environment possible. There just hasn’t been this type of proactive, minimally intrusive solution before,” he says.
Is this kind of home wellness something just for the wealthy? “Not at all,” answers Kapoor. “Wellness informs every project we do, whether it’s a $1,000 a month apartment or luxe condo residence.”
Learn more about Villa Valencia wellness amenities at https://villavalencia.com/technology/ and the DARWIN network at https://delos.com/solutions/residential.