Making Togetherness A Strong Selling Point

Residents may then discover they are in similar fields. This builds what Patnaik referred to as an accidental community.

Arlington Square boasts indoor basketball courts, too, and a busy pool. Building managers schedule play dates for parents with young children, exercise classes, wine-and-cheese tastings and other activities.

"What's more important than the facilities themselves are the things you do in those facilities," Herman said. "Guests encounter each other in workout facilities. They mingle at the pool. And then there are the events. We have trick or treating here on Halloween. At least once a quarter we try some sort of event to get people interacting with one another."

Finding the right mix takes some study. AvalonBay officials have discovered, for example, that some of their communities are appealing more these days to empty-nesters. In these communities, managers have provided space for round game tables so residents can gather to play cards and board games.

"That is different than what we did 10 years ago," Herman said.

The developers at Reston-based Waterford Development take a similar approach. The company's Palladium in McLean, a condominium development, features an outdoor green area, a sort of town square complete with a sculpture and water fountain. The space, said Niki Piersall, who until recently worked as director of sales and marketing for Waterford, has proven to be a natural gathering place for residents. Beginning this spring, the Palladium will host two community events, such as concerts and art exhibitions, every month.

Again, Waterford officials researched their market before deciding to make the garden the Palladium's signature common area. Buyers here are sophisticated, and many are well-to-do empty-nesters, Piersall said. That makes sense; the Palladium's higher-priced units sell for more than $1 million. These residents, then, are more likely to spend time together in a civic garden than in a great room with blaring flat-screen televisions. The project has plenty of elaborate indoor common spaces, too, although on one recent weekday afternoon, they were not getting much use from residents.

Jefferson at Congressional Village, a JPI Properties apartment community in Rockville, attracts a variety of renters, from residents just out of college to empty-nesters. The apartments sit just two blocks from a Metro station and across the street from a concentration of stores on Rockville Pike. The complex, then, does not attract the traditional suburban buyer who must rely on a car to get around.

To serve this population, Jefferson offers an on-site pub, fitness center, business center and, perhaps most important, a cyber cafe equipped for Wi-Fi access. The cafe is busy, said Patty Holt, regional property manager for JPI. This isn't a surprise, considering that many of the building's younger residents need to log on often for their jobs and would rather do so in a public setting. The Wi-Fi access brings computer-savvy residents together, Holt said.

In an effort to find the right mix of community spaces, JPI not only conducts surveys of residents at its own projects, but also interviews renters and buyers at other multifamily projects to find out what amenities and common areas they prefer, Holt said.

What JPI has discovered, Holt said, is that certain common areas work better in suburban settings while others are preferable in urban settings. Conference rooms and business centers are important in the city, Holt said, while swimming pools with extensive landscaping are still top draws in suburban projects.

"You have to offer these spaces," Holt said. "Our competitors are offering these amenities. Clients will go with them if we don't do the same. Residents are demanding more. The rents in the D.C. market are higher than they are in other parts of the country. Residents are looking for all the bells and whistles."

Developers do admit that no matter how much money they pour into glittering fitness centers, sparkling pools and meticulously landscaped rooftop gardens, they can never force residents to socialize. They can never, as Patnaik says, force-feed a sense of community to busy apartment dwellers and condo buyers.

The common areas, though, do provide at least the opportunity for community building, said Tricia Carlson, group vice president of Post Properties. At Post Massachusetts Avenue, for instance, the free continental breakfast offered to residents on weekdays has inspired many to sit and chat before dashing off to work, Carlson said. That provides at least a glimmer of a neighborhood.

"The common areas give residents an opportunity to speak to each other, to get to know one another," Carlson said. "Some develop relationships. Some don't. It really depends on the individual."