Top NYC condos compete for the best workout status with state-of-the-art fitness centers.

With today’s emphasis on health and fitness, a fitness center is often a standard feature in any new apartment building. But New Yorkers are picky (and fit), and the impact that this amenity has on a building’s desirability can depend on what’s being offered and if it adds real value.

Companies like La Palestra specialize in creating high-end fitness facilities in residential developments, and are themselves becoming brand names that buyers look for. Among its creations: The Orion in Midtown offers residents a fitness center with 18-foot ceilings, a double-lane lap pool, saunas, an 18-person whirpool and a yoga center. On the Upper West Side, The Rushmore's fitness facility has 7,000 square feet of state-of-the-art gym equipment and an indoor pool, and the fitness center at the Avery overlooks a large children’s playroom. The Laurel on the Upper East Side offers the Trophy Club with a triathlon training center, two resistance pools, a 50-foot lap pool and sauna and steam rooms. Also popular: Celebrity trainers like Ari Weller, who lends his expertise to the fitness center at 10 West End Avenue.

15 Central Park West residents get a 13,500 square-foot fitness center, including a 75 foot pool with skylights. The Atelier provides basketball and volleyball courts and the by-now-ubiquitous skylighted swimming pool. Downtown by Starck offers a half-basketball court as well. The William Beaver House boasts a gym with a trapeze bar and rings, a yoga center, a Zen center, pool, squash and handball courts, there’s a full-sized outdoor basketball court with bleachers.

Some Apartment Residents Prefer Off-site Workouts
Of course, residents may choose not to get sweaty with their neighbors, and may want the fitness focus that a stand-alone gym can offer. Residents of the Park Millennium get the best of both worlds. They have the 140,000 foot Reebok Sports Club for swimming, rock climbing, basketball, volleyball, classes and more, right on the ground floor, and the The Caledonia in Chelsea boasts the first fully-integrated Equinox Fitness Facility.

For residents who value exercise, New York luxury condos offer plenty of options.