Music Jam Rooms: A Growing Amenity?

Paramount Miami Worldcenter is being billed on its website as “the tower with the most amenities in the world.” The 60-story, 513-unit tower will have rooftop pools, a yoga studio and a dog park. But in today’s amenities arms race, what building doesn’t?

The building has one feature that stands out: a music room with a recording studio. Down the street, the newly opened Panorama Tower in Miami's Brickell neighborhood has one, too. This all begs the question: Are jam rooms the next dog-washing stations?

Paramount Miami Worldcenter, currently under construction, will be just one piece of a massive, $2.7B mixed-use project in downtown Miami. Its developer, Dan Kodsi, told Bisnow he envisioned a room with a stage and giant screen, where people could do karaoke, watch movies or host events. His jam room will open into a multipurpose/party room, and residents would be welcome to bring in live bands. He decided to tack on a recording studio for good measure.

As for the logistics of how it will operate — What instruments will it have? Would it need to be staffed so people don't break the equipment? What if someone doesn't know how to twiddle all the knobs on a mixer? — he said his team hasn't finalized that yet.

“We talked to a recording [engineer] to put together a proposal,” Kodsi said. “We’re focused on putting the building up and will deal with that later this year. We’re expecting completion in the second quarter of next year, so we’ll pay more attention to those details. Instruments are a double-edged sword. You have to deal with breaking them, noise … but they looked cool in the pictures! As far as the actual operation, we’ll have to deal with the condo board — 'Who’s the idiot with the drums!?' — but those things, we’re flexible on.”

Kodsi said there is a conservatory next door, which is a quiet space, so they will probably soundproof the music room, though there’s already a shearing wall, which is a six-foot-thick sheet of concrete. Most likely, he said, a recording engineer could be hired on an appointment basis and the building will employ a staffer who cleans the music room and takes care of instruments. A game room, kids’ playroom and spa are on the same floor, he said.

He stands by his claim that Paramount has the most amenities.

“We counted,” he said. With 46 or 47 amenities, he said Paramount beats the competition in Miami and the U.S. “In Hong Kong and China, they’re actually very low. In Dubai, they go big. They’ll put in a skating rink. But they still don’t have as many.”

Units at Paramount start at $700K.

The Panorama Tower in Brickell, which allowed move-ins last week, is 85 stories tall, which its developers say is the tallest tower south of Manhattan. Residents living in the 821 luxury apartment units have access to a pet spa, a dry cleaner, a U.S. Post Office, wine cellars, three private movie theaters and a "muse" room and music studio. Residents have to bring their own equipment to the 500 SF space, though.

"The unique soundproof room is perfect for private hours of writing music, collaborating with other musicians, producing and more," a project rep told Bisnow.

“We recognize that our residents place a high value on unique services and amenities that can be integrated into their everyday lives," said Florida East Coast Realty Executive Vice President Jerry Hollo, who is building the tower. "The muse room allows residents to easily access a private area to create something they are passionate about, whenever they feel inspired.”

Rents at Panorama range from $2,525 to $6,736 per month.

Around the country, other buildings with music rooms include Lumina in San Francisco and 250 West 81st in New York. In Washington, the building now known as Avalon First and M got national press for planning a jam room, but it doesn't seem to have panned out. A person answering the phone at the building says there's not a music room today, although they do have a cinema. (Efforts to reach a manager were unsuccessful.).

The Austin Nichols House in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a condo project that teased a jam room in 2016, did incorporate an upright piano and some bongo-type drums, and residents are welcome to bring their own instruments to practice. Rents there start at $2,525 for a one-bedroom.

"Some people use it once in a while. Children use it for lessons after school," said an employee at the building who asked not to be named. Even though it's not always busy, "It's a positive addition. People enjoy knowing its there. It makes it feel like a home environment."