HOUSTON – (By Cynthia Lescalleet, Realty News Report) – Modern mailrooms could be having their moment in apartment project amenity escalation.
No longer minimalist and hidden back of site, the spaces are gaining a more sassy presence as they expand their footprints, move into more prominent spots in lobby floor plans, and take on flex functions, such as co-working or ride-share lounges.
And some, apparently, are morphing into trendy hangouts for tenants who may or may not find them an Instagram-worthy spot to “meet cute.” Cue Hallmark movie script.
Or so has observed Workshop Studio founder and design principal Julia Lauve, whose firm created a snazzy mailroom example at The Mill Old Town, J Street Property Services’ 202-unit mid-rise luxury project in North Dallas.
In location and design, today’s mailroom “is a feature, not an afterthought,” she said. To do so can be a challenge for developers with apartment projects in the pipeline. Their choice? Either work around what’s needed or embrace the space as “a design feature instead of a design dilemma.”
As an example, The Mill Old Town’s user-friendly mailroom has a boutique hotel lobby vibe. Given the checkered flooring and plush curved banquet seating, the results read Jazz Age with a nostalgic mood.
Once utilitarian and mundane, mailrooms now borrow from hospitality and office lobby design. They aspire to be warm, welcoming and ready to deliver a more “activated” environment in a building’s community, Lauve said
“People are a building’s biggest amenity,” Lauve said. To create opportunities for residents to connect enhances leasing efforts to attract and retain tenants.
GATEWAY, HUB AND HANGOUT
Hunington Property’s Houston area projects since 2020 — such as The Vic at Woodforest — consciously upped the mailroom budget and broadened its role as a “gateway” to adjacent amenities, said Kate Good, senior vice president, multifamily development and operations.
“We moved the mailroom to the clubhouse and took the design to a higher level,” she said.
The new approach brings residents “to a place where they can also enjoy amenities, such as recreational games, coffee bar, gym, reading nooks, podcast studios, and conference rooms. It’s always a bonus when they meet their neighbors while visiting the common areas.”
Tenant feedback indicates they check their mail boxes more often, run into other residents, and head over to nearby soft seating and bar-height tables to mingle.
Some properties have set up a beverage bar for tenants as a social instigator, she said.
FOOTPRINT CREEP
Several factors are driving mailrooms to pivot. Among them: overlapping layers of complex federal, state and municipal regulations related to mail delivery, fair housing and ADA compliance; still-burgeoning e-commerce; and a more convivial apartment lifestyle after Covid cocooned tenants.
Even the local postmaster has a say in whether the mailroom will merit postal service. In some municipalities, a designated parking space for the carrier must be no more than 100 feet from the mail station.
Just as every project is different, every postmaster is different, said Franky Lee of Architecture Demarest’s project manager for The Mill Old Town. It would behoove developers and architects to check with their project’s postmaster early in the design process on whether the mailroom location, clearances and access will suffice and merit delivery service.
It’s costly and often not even possible to change floor plans to meet criteria once load bearing walls and columns are in place, he said.
FORMS FOLLOW FUNCTION
Mark Drumm, who developed the UniTi Montrose apartments on Richmond Avenue in Houston, said that above all other design considerations, mailroom and package delivery systems must be safe and secure.
While that can also be a pleasant experience for tenants, addressing the actual functions of mail and package delivery and compliance with regulations is paramount, said Drumm, managing partner of The Shelter Co.
Another way new multifamily projects are accommodating the sheer volume of deliveries is to separate delivery service space from U.S. postal functions and to use the latest delivery-related technology, he said. Still, the pace of e-commerce and forecasts for continued growth make planning to accommodate it quite a challenge for project design.
While mail rooms themselves are definitely getting larger, Drumm said, they are not necessarily sharing functions unless out of necessity, as is perhaps more common for more dense, tight sites.
“Amenities are always a moving target,” he said. “We do know there is growing demand for communal spaces that are actually usable.” He also noted how some early projects with fancy common areas, for instance, are being pared into co-working and mingling, he said. “People are private. And guarded. And busy.”
Dec. 31, 2024 Realty News Report Copyright 2024
Images: (top) The Mill Old Town photo: The English Den courtesy of Workshop Studio. (Photo 2) – The Vic at Woodforest Courtesy of Hunington Properties. interior design team is Makr Design, Houston makrDESIGN
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File: Meet Me at the Mailroom – the New Multifamily Hangout, Hunington Properties, Kate Good, Franky Lee, Meet Me at the Mailroom – the New Multifamily Hangout, The Vic at Woodforest, Julia Lauve, Mark Drumm