HOBOKEN AND JERSEY CITY — The New York Times has a story today in which they talk about how the W Hotel hosted a recent “Speed Dating” event, and how residential buildings are designed now to help neighbors meet each other in general.
It’s not Melrose Place or anything, but they want to foster community.
The story says that a Jersey City building called the Saffron, which has 76 condos, is attracting mostly “young and single residents.”
Developer James Caulfield says: “That could mean romance, or simply friendships, but we want to allow people to take part in each other’s lives, and have a sense of neighborhood, and being at home, when they walk in the door.”
The story notes:
The Saffron not only has a central courtyard with benches, for casual mingling, but also a top-floor community room that includes extra-large washers and dryers. “We encourage residents to go up there to do weekend loads that may be too bulky for the smaller units in their apartments,” Mr. Caulfield said, “and they can just hang out there.”
The community area opens to a rooftop deck, and it also offers several shower stalls for use after sunbathing. These amenities can serve as ice-breakers even for shy people, Mr. Caulfield said,
Shy people? We writers are definitely in!