Latest news with #amenities
Globe and Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Stratton Amenities Brings Elevated Concierge Services to Fort Lauderdale-Miami
Delivering Livable Luxury for Residential Communities Fort Lauderdale, FL - Stratton Amenities, the nationwide hospitality leader renowned for transforming everyday living into a seamless luxury experience, is proud to announce the expansion of its South Florida services to Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Building on its successful footprint in Naples, this move delivers Stratton's elevated amenity and vendor‑management expertise to multifamily high‑rises,mixed‑use developments, and condominiums across South Florida's most dynamic coastal markets. Going Beyond Traditional Concierge Services Stratton Amenities goes beyond conventional concierge offerings, delivering a tailored luxury framework that marries five‑star service delivery with genuine warmth. Professionally trained residential front‑desk teams, lifestyle databases, and vendor coordination operate with one guiding conviction: luxury lives in the details. By anticipating needs before they surface, Stratton Amenities concierge teams transform everyday living into an art form—securing last‑minute reservations, arranging a dog‑walker who knows every pup's favorite route, or orchestrating community events that create a sense of belonging. 'Luxury today means more than convenience; it's proactive, personalized service that enriches daily life,' says Christina Marshall, Director of Business Development. 'Our debut in Fort Lauderdale and Miami brings that elevated lifestyle to some of the country's most discerning residents.' A Multilayered Suite of Services Residential Front Desk Concierge Five‑star hospitality professionals who provide security, guest management, and polished first impressions at high‑rise, luxury, and mixed‑use residential communities. Our concierge team is always on hand to offer personalized assistance, ensuring residents feel at home and taken care of. Lifestyle Management Program A full‑service program designed to enhance residents' lives, from community marketing support and event planning to personalized lifestyle databases and vendor coordination. Whether it's curating exclusive events, managing community relations, or coordinating personal requests, our concierge teams tailor each request to meet residents' needs. Package Concierge A sophisticated package management system that ensures secure, timely delivery and retrieval of packages, offering both residents and property managers peace of mind and convenience. Courtesy Patrol Stratton's professionally trained patrol teams provide added security and service to residential communities. They ensure the safety of the property while also offering services such as package pick‑up, general inquiries, and minor maintenance requests, blending security with guest service. Seasonal & Temporary Roles To meet the fluctuating needs of properties during high‑demand periods, Stratton offers seasonal and temporary staffing solutions. From holiday package concierge services to pool concierge services during the summer seasons, we adapt to ensure communities remain well-served year‑round. Setting a New Standard in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Stratton Amenities has built a strong reputation for providing bespoke amenity solutions that transform residential properties into vibrant, service-rich communities. With its recent expansion into South Florida, the company is excited to introduce its Fort Lauderdale concierge services. This new suite of offerings is designed to enhance everyday living in this lively coastal city, adding a touch of luxury and convenience to residents' daily routines. Meanwhile, Stratton Amenities' established presence in Naples serves as a testament to the company's dedication to excellence. The Naples concierge services have consistently raised the bar, offering residents unmatched convenience and an elevated lifestyle experience. These services exemplify Stratton's commitment to delivering exceptional standards in luxury living, setting a high benchmark for their new South Florida locations. Beyond Fort Lauderdale, Stratton Amenities is further expanding its footprint in Miami, a city known for its vibrant culture, luxury lifestyle, and stunning waterfront views. With the launch of concierge services in Miami, Stratton is poised to offer tailored experiences that cater to the diverse needs of this cosmopolitan city, ensuring a personalized touch for its sophisticated residents. Customized, Scalable Solutions Stratton rejects one‑size‑fits‑all models. Every engagement begins with an in‑depth property assessment, followed by bespoke staffing matrices, attire guidelines, scripting, and personalized lifestyle databases. Data‑backed service audits fuel continuous improvement, allowing boutique properties and expansive high‑rises alike to scale services in harmony with resident expectations and ownership objectives. Discover how Stratton Amenities can enhance your property and elevate the lifestyle of your residents. Media Contact Company Name: Stratton Amenities Email: Send Email Phone: 18664899919 Address: 12530 Lebanon Rd Suite 206 City: Frisco State: Texas Country: United States Website:
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Number of vape shops in England rises by almost 1,200% in a decade
The number of vape shops on high streets across England has increased by almost 1,200% over the past decade, while deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent ones, according to research. In 2014, only 33.8% of 317 local authorities in England had a vape shop, rising to 97.2% in 2024. Similarly, in 2014 less than 1% of local authorities in England had 10 or more vape shops, rising to 28% in 2024. The study, conducted by researchers at Health Equity North, looked at Ordnance Survey data to track how amenities had changed between 2014 and 2024. The amenities were divided into those seen as 'health promoting', such as pharmacies, libraries and supermarkets, and 'health reducing' such as vape shops, bookmakers, takeaways and alcohol-only outlets. They found a stark decline in healthier amenities, with unhealthy alternatives taking their place. Takeaway shops were up by almost a quarter (24%) across England, while the number of banks and building societies decreased by 40%, and supermarkets by 10%. The report found there were stark regional divides across England regarding high-street amenities, with twice as many vape shops in the north of England. The number of takeaways in the north of England rose by a third (31%), compared with a rise of 18% in the south. There were three times as many vape shops in deprived areas compared with the least deprived ones. Deprived areas also had 25 times more pawnbrokers and more than three times as many bookmakers. Dr Eman Zied Abozied, research associate at Newcastle University Population Sciences Institute, said the study showed that high streets were becoming 'less healthy and welcoming places to visit'. 'The disappearance of amenities such as supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and public toilets particularly affects groups such as women, children and the elderly,' she said. 'But what we're seeing impacts all of us. The deterioration of our high streets makes our centres feel less safe, less inviting, and ultimately makes us feel more disconnected as communities.' She added: 'It is important that we act now to reverse this decline. If we involve local communities in making decisions about their high streets, we can make our high streets and towns more accessible and healthy for everyone.' Prof Clare Bambra, an academic co-director at Health Equity North and professor of public health at Newcastle University, said: 'Over the last decade, our high streets have been hit by a devastating succession of shocks – from the impact of austerity to the Covid-19 pandemic. They've also been hollowed out by changing spending habits, and the rising cost of living. 'This trend has disproportionately affected the most deprived places in our country. The northern high street now has fewer places to go to buy essentials, as well as fewer supermarkets, public toilets and other amenities and resources. The north has twice as many vape shops as the south, as well as more takeaway outlets and bookmakers. 'You should be able to walk down a high street, and feel the uniqueness, culture and identity of that community. Through innovative design, better public transport, and measures that promote people over cars, we can rethink these spaces so they become 'go-to's' rather than 'ghost towns'.' A government spokesperson said: 'For years high streets have been starved of investment despite their potential to thrive, but we are taking decisive action to turn the tide through our Plan for Change. 'Councils and local leaders have powers to tackle persistently vacant properties in city, town and village centres by putting the leases up for auction to help restrict the types of businesses that fill those lots. 'We are driving regeneration and growth with £1.5billion through the Plan for Neighbourhoods to boost high streets, and we're bringing empty shops back to life through our high street rental auctions.' City of London, London: 4.6 Blackburn with Darwen, north-west: 1.7 Preston, north-west: 1.6 Blackpool, north-west: 1.2 Bolton, north-west: 1.2 Lincoln, East Midlands: 1.2 Thanet, south-east: 1.2 Chesterfield, East Midlands: 1.1 Hyndburn, north-west: 1.1 Derbyshire Dales, East Midlands: 1
Globe and Mail
16-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
As Toronto seeks low-rise apartments, bylaws requiring amenities may stand in the way
When Fitzrovia, the rapidly expanding rental developer founded in 2017 by Adrian Rocca, began building its three-tower 'Sloane' project four years ago, the company reckoned it needed to offer residents plenty of on-site amenities. Shoehorned onto a forbidding triangle of land next to the 401 off ramp to Yorkdale, the property's neighbours include a Honda dealership and several industrial buildings. The mall is nearby, as the crow flies. But to reach it, Sloane's tenants have to traverse Dufferin's six lanes and then Yorkdale's windswept parking lot. Understandably, Sloane offers something of an all-you-can-eat buffet of options for its tenants. Besides the typical high-rise features – pool, party room, gym, terrace – there's also a basketball court, a co-working space, a Montessori school, a movie room and a 'pet spa.' Such features, which figure prominently in Fitzrovia's promotional material, reflect a complicated mix of marketing and municipal goals. Developers use them to add some lustre to their projects but City of Toronto bylaws require builders to provide amenity spaces. The regulations specify two square-metres of indoor and outdoor amenity space per unit in buildings with more than 20 apartments (or 30 if the site is on a major street). Some of the indoor and outdoor areas need to be physically connected. With large-scale projects situated in areas that are notably lacking in community spaces and services, such as Sloane, the regulations make both commercial and policy sense. But what about for smaller-scale apartment buildings – those with five or six floors and perhaps 30 or 40 units – that council wants see developed along major streets? The formula the city uses is the same for any project with more than 20 apartments, but the economics and the space constraints are trickier with smaller buildings, according to planners and developers looking to build so-called missing middle housing. 'Amenity space is challenging to provide in places that make sense on small building,' says planning consultant Sean Galbraith. 'It makes sense to put it on the roof, because that's the best location.' But, he adds, the wrinkle is that the city may count it as an additional floor, which can scuttle an approval in a predominantly low-rise area. 'You either need to get planning relief for an additional storey, or you're going to lose a storey that actually makes you money.' Blair Scorgie, also a planning consultant, says city officials reviewing an application may also press the builder to add certain types of amenities, such as a pet-washing station or a playroom, even though the bylaws are silent about such choices. Beyond these technical considerations, the existing amenity space regulations for smaller buildings overlook a few basic urban realities about the types of residential neighbourhoods that council has deemed suitable for missing middle housing. One is that the older parts of the city have hundreds of small scale and generally desirable apartment buildings that were built without amenity spaces, except a laundry room. The other is that such communities typically have plenty of amenities, from local parks to storefront gyms, cafés filled with people working on their laptops, municipal pools and arts hubs. 'The city is the amenity,' says Abdur Chatni, president and co-founder of CLIP Homes, a missing middle design-build firm. He lives in a 1950s building on Bathurst Street, near Eglinton Avenue, with 70 units and no amenity spaces or security desk – just large floor-plate apartments. Despite that lack, there's always a long list of prospective occupants. 'There will always be tenants for this,' Mr. Chatni says, 'because the unit layouts are great. There are no extras. People know what they're paying for.' Such a building would not be approved under the current regulations. Builders, of course, are not disinterested participants in this conversation: the existing rules mean they have less 'saleable' floor space in a project. Large multiunit buildings, simply by virtue of their configuration, often contain areas that simply can't be used for residential living, including basements or spaces on the main floor. Some of these, says architect Naama Blonder, founder of Smart Density, can be turned into functional amenity areas, such kids' playrooms or stroller storage areas. 'They're the easiest to provide and actually useful when you raise kids in condos.' The same, however, can't be said of smaller projects, where space is at a premium and the developers can't count on economies of scale. Mr. Chatni adds that amenity features also add cost in the form of the monthly maintenance outlays that are tacked onto condo fees or rents. Indeed, for those who aren't interested in a small pool or prefer to work out with friends at the local fitness centre, those fees may eventually chafe, particularly when eye-candy features like saunas stop functioning. City planning officials in the past year came face-to-face with the constraints of the existing amenity space rule during the planning of a missing middle pilot project in the east end. The proposed 28-unit apartment building, meant to be shoe-horned into an oddly-shaped Green P lot off Danforth Avenue near Woodbine Avenue, exceeds the minimum threshold for amenity provision. The city's designers realized the additional space requirements may render it uneconomical. In fact, these are precisely the kinds of constrained properties or consolidated lots that missing middle developers are now targeting, says Mr. Scorgie, who is working on a number of projects in the 30- to 45-unit range. 'It becomes very challenging actually to find space for indoor amenities,' he says. 'There's different pressures at that scale. Ms. Blonder and others working on such compact projects argue that the city should follow the approach it took with underground parking two years ago. Instead of requiring a minimum number of spaces, council voted to leave the decision up to the developer. 'I don't think the city should ultimately be mandating [amenity space],' says Igor Dragovic, senior manager for development at Concert Properties. [If] you speak to a lot of developers or people in the industry, I think they will sort of agree on that.' Mr. Galbraith's view, on the other hand, is that with council's push to get developers to build small-scale apartment buildings on major streets, the projects with fewer than 60 apartments – such as the one in which Mr. Chatni lives – should be exempt. It's interesting to note that the debate over the city's amenity space regulations was only thrown open by council's recent decision to begin encouraging the sort of low-rise apartment buildings that were constructed decades ago – well before developers sought to promote themselves with sexy enticements in order to attract either buyers or tenants. Ironically, those amenity-free older buildings today have long wait-lists while tiny condos in towers fitted out with roof top terraces or weight rooms are seeing rents stall and market values plunge. As Ms. Blonder puts it, 'When you live in an apartment in Paris, no one expects to have a theatre room and a gym and a pool.'
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘We had to do something': Mayor Canniff backs bold move toward new Chatham-Kent Community Hub
Chatham votes to merge several different amenities all under one roof, but not everyone likes the idea. CTV Windsor's Chris Campbell has details.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
UK high streets falling ‘short of mark' promoting health and well-being
Most of the UK's high streets are failing the millions who use them every day by lacking even the most basic amenities for health such as spaces to socialise and shops selling nutritious food, according to a report. Some 87% of people surveyed for the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) say their high street does not have enough of at least one of the essential amenities needed for healthy living, including green space to rest or exercise, socialising spaces such as cafes or pubs, infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, good transport links or even safe and clean areas. The charity's Streets Ahead report found that 53% of the public, equivalent to 36 million people, say their local high street does not have enough shops selling healthy food. The RSPH is calling for changes to the tax system to make online retailers increase their contributions, with the money raised being used to improve the high street. It also wants the Government to require businesses and landlords to work with local authorities to help create 'healthy high street' plans in order to get approval for private developments on or around high streets. The report suggests that high streets could 'hold the key' to promoting healthier behaviour among the general population, which could reverse rising rates of ill health. As it stands, the report claims the UK's high streets fall 'well short of the mark' on promoting health and well-being in the population. RSPH chief executive William Roberts said: 'High streets are an essential part of our society. For hundreds of years, they have been a cornerstone and they shape our experiences and our lives. 'For far too long we have allowed the gradual decline of our high streets to continue. 'Instead of the bustling hubs of community they once were, we have become far too used to seeing boarded up shops and our high streets lined with businesses that perpetuate ill health. 'We can do better. We want everyone in this country to feel that their local high street is good for their health and to be proud of their local areas. People want to be healthy and the places they spend time in need to support them to make healthier choices. 'For us, healthy places includes healthy high streets. We need to be ambitious for our high streets and that ambition to be backed up by action. This landmark new report sets out a road map for change at a national and local level.'
