The Global Wellness Institute believes built environments are essential to health and wellness within your condo, driving a growing need for more wellness-centric spaces. As the Toronto real estate market faces value challenges, condo boards can use health and wellness as a competitive edge.

Fitwel Certification for your condo board

Fitwel Certification targets health and wellness condo design strategies and policies using a self-driven program. Condo boards can apply for Built Certification using the Fitwel Multifamily Residential Scorecard to assess their building’s current health. The process addresses 59 health impact categories and provides evidence-based strategies to help improve building health.

The Built Certification pathway helps condo boards prioritize projects suited to their budget and building health, from affordable operational improvements to capital upgrades. The project is registered on the Fitwel platform, and Fitwel certifies the condo based on a star rating. Certification requires a $500 USD registration fee, and subsequent costs are based on a tiered square footage price. 

Categories addressed on the scorecard include:

• Location and accessibility, such as Walk Score, condo bike parking and share programs, universal accessibility, etc.
• Shared spaces and amenities such as outdoor seating, gardens, fitness centres, encouragement to use stairs, community vegetable gardens, etc.
•  Indoor environments and air quality, such as smoke-free policies, enhanced natural light, views of nature, formal guidelines to mitigate the spread of illness, improved air filtration, etc.
• Operations and maintenance policies, including clear communication, operational guidelines focused on health, integrated pest management, etc.

Fitwel and WELL certifications can command between 4.4% and 7.7% more per square foot than non-certified buildings. Fitwel also found that 87% of institutional investors experienced increased tenant demand for healthy communities.

Neuro-architecture for your condo

Neuro-architecture design creates environments to improve cognitive health, including:

• Biophilic design to reduce stress and promote emotional well-being
• Circadian lighting to enhance cognitive performance and improved sleeping habits
•  Other sensory elements, such as noise-reducing acoustic materials or curved furniture and walls to create a calmer environment

Studies related to neuro- and biophilic design principles show that people are more willing to pay for good views of water and large trees. Something as simple as creating a rooftop garden, planting more trees to improve views, or creating a small park area on the property creates the green settings that improve residents’ quality of life and, in turn, enhance property values.  

Holistic project trends 

Trend Hunter reports that more condo projects focused on wellness residences meet growing demand for health-conscious living. Wellness amenities are considered the new luxury with rising demand for shared outdoor spaces and access to wellness services. Urban wellness concepts create a sense of community through social spaces and multipurpose spaces such as massage therapy services or healthy grocery boutiques. Multipurpose spaces also create new revenue streams via rent by integrating holistic services and treatments into common areas.

Implementing health and wellness strategies helps condo boards identify health risks and integrate health-conscious upgrades in their reserve fund plans. Implementing certification through Fitwel can be more affordable and easier to implement, as it does not require on-site assessments. As a result, boards can improve building health using manageable standards, allowing them to tackle more health-oriented projects. 

The condo experts at CPO Management Inc., a property management company in Toronto and the GTA, have helped many condo corporations successfully introduce community initiatives that enhance well-being. As well, our team at CPO has helped condos implement green strategies resulting in cost savings. Reach out to us today to learn more about our condo services.