WHEN ALYSHA AKBAR, 25, moved into her two-bedroom condo at the Savoy at Reston Town Center two years ago, one of the first things she did was cancel her membership at Gold's Gym.

She didn't bail out because she feared getting a deadly foot fungus in the communal showers or because she was annoyed by the muscle heads who she sometimes ran into standing in line at the weight machines. Well, not exactly.

"At a gym where you pay, I feel like people are very hard-core," she explains. "I don't want to be approached by a physical trainer. I'm [working out] more for my doctor who, says, 'Do more cardio,' as opposed to I need to bulk up for a triathlon."

Now, when the account executive at a recruiting firm wants to follow doctor's orders and jog on a treadmill, all she needs to do is take the elevator down to the first floor to the Savoy's spiffy fitness center. There, she can hop on an elliptical machine, use free weights or use a fitness ball while watching the tube.

Fitness routines like hers are becoming more common for condo owners.

"People do expect [a gym] at this point. I think they've expected it for a while," says Jamie Gorski, chief of marketing for Kettler, a D.C. real estate development company which includes spaces for residents to huff, puff and pump in most of their properties. "If there is an amenity you're going to offer, you're going to do the fitness center before anything else."

Jim Abdo, CEO of Abdo Development, a firm responsible for numerous Washington-area condo complexes, agrees. "Health clubs are typically near the top of [the purchaser's] lists," he says. "Some are certainly more elaborate than others."

A couple treadmills here and a few weight-lifting stations there seems to be the norm for most condo complexes in the area. But many potential buyers would like to see their buildings bulk up their on-site exercise options. And it seems like bigger, better-stocked gyms are coming to many new developments.

Eventually, condo dwellers may wax nostalgic about being forced to watch "Real World" marathons on their gym's lone TV because some other gym rat got there first.

That's because newer complexes like the Columbia in the West End and the Midtown Alexandria Station Condos in Old Town are filling their sweat-it-out spaces with bikes, treadmills and elliptical trainers that have personalized cable TVs on each machine.

And when it comes to workout areas, square footage really matters. Just ask Abdo, whose company recently delivered two upscale Arlington projects, the Wooster and the Mercer. The buildings share a larger-than-average fitness facility. The developments, which hold lofts selling for $415,000 to nearly $4 million each, are located on Clarendon Boulevard.

"Even though these projects only hold a total of 86 units — and these are big, luxury loft units — we put in a very sizeable health club there that overlooks a big in-ground swimming pool with two lap lanes," he says. Sure enough, a walk around the workout space would lead one to believe it serves twice as many residents.

And while a spacious zone to get their Pilates on seems sure to please some residents, developers are using extra space in more indulgent ways as well. Massage room, anyone?

Gorski, who oversaw the instillation of such a spa-like space at the Midtown Alexandria Station, isn't kidding. "You can have a masseuse come in on demand," she says.

No, there isn't someone to rub residents down 24/7. But the Midtown's main gym room leads to a smaller space with a massage table. Folks can either bring in their own rubdown pro or ask the concierge downstairs for some recommendations. And, no, spa treatments don't come free with your condo fees here.

"I think those flex spaces [like the spa room] are so important," says Gorski. "There have been trends that come and go — aerobics, Spinning, Pilates. If you create some flexible space within a fitness center, you can adapt it later to whatever the new trend is."

But many condo-hunting Joes (or Janes) aren't that concerned about on-site gyms. Outside workout fans are more interested in a potential pad's proximity to parks or biking/running trails.

For instance, residents at the Columbia — a 225-unit complex carved out of the former Columbia Hospital for Women — have to go just a few blocks to access Rock Creek Park's leafy paths or the Capital Crescent Trail. Sure, there's a workout room in the basement, too. But many residents, understandably, choose to head outside to do their cardio.

"It's close to Rock Creek Park, but [my girlfriend and I] actually made more use of the trail that goes from Georgetown to Bethesda on our bikes," says Jeff Massie, 32, a former resident who works as a sales associate for Coldwell Banker. "That was the best part of the Columbia — the location. We could ride our bikes to the Mall or the trail or walk to Georgetown."

Developers are even trying to keep their clients' alfresco exercise habits in mind when dreaming up new properties. That can mean everything from climbing walls in the exurbs to on-site jogging and biking trails like those at Herndon's new development, the Bryson at Woodland Park.

For condominiums closer to the city, sometimes being fitness-savvy simply means giving residents a safe space in which to stash their Schwinns or Bianchis.

"To have someone have to resort to carrying their bike into an elevator, up into their unit and storing it out on their beautiful balcony is really scandalous, in my opinion," says Abdo. "We go out of our way to make sure that we're building an adequate number of facilities to allow for bike storage," he says. "More and more developers are recognizing the importance of that. We just see it in our buying public that they're like, 'Oh, great, you've got bike storage.'"

Devoted bike rooms, treadmills galore, rowing machines and the latest weight-lifting gadgets — is there anything else condo-dwellers need to motivate them to get off the sofas in their sparkling new lofts and start exercising?

When asked, many residents indicated that they would love to see on-site fitness classes. Yet complexes that offer organized exercise sessions are rare — it's tough to find the space and money to hire instructors. But Takoma Park's under-construction Ecco Park Homes — an 85-unit, eco-minded complex near the Metro due to deliver next year — plans to offer classes given by Willow Street Yoga on its rooftop or in its party room.

There's no yoga or Pilates instruction in the gym at Clarendon's the Phoenix, where Angela Kehler, 25, an administrative assistant for a nonprofit, owns a two-bedroom condo. The on-site gym, "is pretty small," she says. "They have on elliptical, a couple treadmills, some dumbbells and something like a Bowflex."

Her building's lack of group classes means she has yet to give up her membership at a nearby Washington Sports Club. "I like the idea of being able to take classes," Kehler says. "They keep my attention more. The stationary stuff — I'm not a big fan."

Aaron Eidelman, 27, a marketing director at Gratis Internet who owns a one-bedroom condo at Bethesda's Crescent Plaza, agrees. He works out on the elliptical machine at his condo's popular gym. But he says he'd enjoy taking classes that he didn't have to leave home for. "Spinning. Maybe yoga," he says. "That would be a good thing — we haven't done that."

But when asked whether they'd be willing to fork over an extra $20 per month in condo fees for the privilege of taking such classes, both Kehler and Eidelman answer without hesitation: "Yeah," says Kehler. "No," says Eidelman with a laugh.

So, for now, they'll just have to settle for an evening run on one of those personalized workout stations, sweating while tuned into those individual TVs with cable. Sigh. Life is rough.

Photos by Chris Combs

Posted by Kris Coronado at 12:02 AM on September 28, 2007
Tagged in Condo Living , Lifestyles , Real Estate , Top Stories