In my mid-twenties I lived in a fourth-floor walkup on Water Street in Manhattan, in what was then the South Street Seaport. When my roommates and I arrived to view the apartment one night in December, we weren’t particularly impressed by the unit, the neighborhood, or the price. But before we left, one of our prospective neighbors suggested we visit the roof deck, so we filed to the top of the stairs. Even standing at the back of the line behind my three roommates, when the door opened I gasped at the sight of the Brooklyn Bridge vaulting across the East River. At that moment we decided we had to have the apartment.
It turns out this is not a unique phenomenon. According to a recent article in MarketWatch, commercial properties, apartments, and hotels throughout the country are increasingly adding rooftop amenity decks to buildings in high-density areas lacking usable outdoor space. This should come as no surprise given the high price per square foot of real estate in desirable markets, and it comes as a boon to many commercial property owners since commercial buildings typically have flat roofs to begin with. Developers are discovering that tenants are willing to pay a premium for resort-style features like rooftop amenity decks, while the accessibility of penthouse views to all building residents attracts new renters and reduces vacancies.
But how to reclaim this precious square footage from the unsightly HVAC and mechanical equipment vying for this space? Consider what the developers of this Sioux City apartment building did.
They combined RoofScreen’s engineered framing system and VisionGuard L20 slatted louvers to conceal their mechanical units, reinforcing the contemporary loft aesthetic of their renovated historic warehouse while maintaining easy access to the units for servicing.
With the infinitely customizable, easy-to-install RoofScreen system combined with any of our VisionGuard louvers, premium perforated panels, or any other manufacturer’s panel, roof top mechanical equipment disappears while reinforcing your architectural vision and creating an inviting outdoor space. And with a deck attachment proven to safeguard the waterproofing of your roofing system, you’ll never have to worry about leaks. 83,457 installed attachments don’t lie.
