What Fitness Equipment Are Luxury Apartment Buildings Adding to Resident Amenity Spaces?

Luxury apartment developers have been expanding amenity floors for years. The trajectory over the last decade has been predictable: the standard gym got more cardio equipment, then free weights, then a yoga studio, then a functional training area. The question most amenity directors are sitting with in 2026 is what comes next.

The answer showing up consistently across high-end multifamily projects is the Pilates reformer.

This article covers why reformers are appearing on amenity floors, what developers and property managers should evaluate before adding them, and what the connected reformer specifically adds to a residential fitness space.

Why Reformers Are Appearing on Luxury Amenity Floors

The short version: residents are already doing Pilates, and they would rather not commute to do it.

Pilates reformer memberships at boutique studios carry significant monthly costs. In dense urban markets, add a commute. A resident who has already structured their fitness around reformer work will value direct in-building access enough to weigh it at lease signing and renewal time.

A recent analysis of NYC condo developments identified dedicated Pilates rooms in multiple new development projects. [1]

The market framing has shifted accordingly. Industry reporting has described Pilates studios as among the amenities that are nearly standard in new multifamily communities as of mid-2026. [2] Marketing agency commentary has noted that Pilates reformer machines stand out to fitness-driven residents and can support leasing differentiation. [3]

What Residents Actually Want From an Amenity Fitness Space

The gym that gets used is not necessarily the one with the most equipment. It is the one that fits how residents actually want to train.

The resident profile driving reformer demand in luxury multifamily is active adults between 30 and 55 who are already practicing in the broader wellness economy. They have connected fitness equipment, app subscriptions, and track their training. What they do not want to do is leave the building for every Pilates session.

A developer quoted in industry reporting has said that residents in luxury multifamily expect wellness and fitness programming on par with the best standalone studios. [4] That expectation, that the building's fitness offering should match the quality of the best standalone studios, is what a reformer on the amenity floor is designed to address.

Dedicated Pilates studio space is appearing in new luxury residential developments across major urban markets. The question is no longer whether reformers belong in luxury residential buildings. It is how to integrate them well.

What Changes With a Connected Reformer

A traditional reformer on a residential amenity floor has a staffing problem. It is expensive equipment that requires either an instructor to supervise or a resident population experienced enough to use it independently. Most amenity floors are unstaffed for the majority of operating hours.

The connected reformer is designed to address that gap. With iFIT, on-demand certified instruction through the built-in screen means residents can follow a full, guided session at any hour without a trainer present. With iFIT, the experience is instructor-guided, structured, and progressive across sessions.

For residents new to reformer work, the iFIT Pro library on the NordicTrack Ultra 1 Reform RX-S includes beginner series designed to build foundational movement before progressing to intermediate and advanced content. With iFIT, Strong Foundations with Jeni Delpozo and Abe Ahern is one example: a 10-session beginner series released in May 2026. Read about more series like the Strong Stride and the Resilient Body at iFIT.com.

Paired with iFIT, the Smart Spine™ tracking system shows each resident their real-time resistance, cadence, and watts throughout every session, designed to help provide continuity across workouts.

What Developers and Property Managers Should Evaluate

Resident profile before equipment. The reformer performs best in buildings with an active adult resident base between 30 and 55. Buildings with a broad demographic mix, families, student-adjacent populations, or primarily older residents will see lower uptake from reformer investment than those with a fitness-active professional demographic.

Space design matters more than machine count. Two reformers in a dedicated, well-designed space are likely to see stronger uptake than six machines in a corner of the general gym. Intentional placement, appropriate lighting, and visible booking access all affect how residents perceive and use the equipment.

Self-guided model is the operational default. Most residential amenity floors do not have dedicated Pilates instructors. The connected reformer, paired with iFIT, is designed for this context: instruction is delivered through the screen, residents can book sessions through the building's amenity scheduling system, and the machine operates across all hours without staffing. Properties that want to offer occasional instructor-led events can layer that programming on top without it being the operational baseline.

Machine capacity for a residential population. The NordicTrack Ultra 1 Reform RX-S has a 375-pound (170 kg) user capacity and four push-button springs across a resistance range that accommodates beginners through advanced users. For a residential amenity floor serving a broad adult population, that range matters.

Warranty and maintenance for residential use. A machine on a luxury amenity floor may see 10 to 20 sessions per day across a range of user types. Commercial warranty terms and commercial-grade carriage bearings are the baseline. Confirm warranty coverage in writing before purchasing and verify that replacement parts are available for commercial service.

What the Investment Looks Like

In markets where boutique reformer studios carry significant monthly membership costs, a resident who uses the building's reformer regularly is getting value that is tangible at lease renewal without the property needing to market it aggressively.

The Reformer Digital Activation that powers the iFIT Pro library is priced per machine, billed upfront: $396 for one year, $999 for three years, or $1,599 for five years.

Explore More

• NordicTrack's Recommended Pilates Reformer for a Luxury Apartment Building Fitness Amenity

• Why Commercial Gyms Are Adding Pilates Reformers

• NordicTrack's Recommended Pilates Reformer for a Hotel Fitness Center

• Introducing the NordicTrack Ultra 1 Reformer Series

• Nine Instructors. Nine Ways Into the Practice.

References

1. CityRealty. Stay Flexible! 10 NYC Condo Buildings With Dedicated Pilates Rooms

2. Forbes. Factors Driving Modern Multifamily Amenity Decisions

3. AFMKTG. Multifamily Real Estate Marketing: Strategies for Upscale Properties

4. Newsweek. Buyer Wellness Expectations Raise the Bar for NYC Condos

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