Apartments designed to make you healthier

When luxe apartment building Icon, at 1616 Walnut, opens April 1, city dwellers will have no excuse for pasty winter skin or under-eye circles — not when they can just move into Icon and start every day with a vitamin C shower.

The newly renovated building boasts a long list of upscale amenities, many focused around wellness. Take the floor dedicated to fitness, yoga and massages, or the sky deck with herb garden and gourmet demo kitchen for cooking classes. A bike share program is in the works, too. But what really pushes Icon over the healthy edge is the availability of WELL Signature Residences, designed by Delos — a first in Philly.

“The gist is that you think about how your building interacts with the exterior environment. They make a building that interacts with human physiology. It’s all backed by the Mayo Clinic,” says Kevin Michals of Cross Properties about twin brothers Paul and Peter Scialla of Delos. Cross owns Icon, in partnership with Alterra Property Group and Federal Capital Partners.

The WELL Signature Residences at Icon have lighting designed to simulate a rising dawn and blackout curtains, to encourage a natural sleeping pattern; air and water filtration systems; and anti-bacteria coatings in susceptible areas. Residents can also opt for vitamin C-infused showers, which Michals says neutralizes the chlorine in the water.

Monthly rent for a “regular” apartment at Icon is roughly $2,000 for a one-bedroom unit and $3,000 for a two-bedroom, with WELL Signature Residences priced 15 to 20 percent more — though Michals did stress that the rent range is subject to change.

Where to find Delos’ residences
Icon is the first in Philadelphia to offer WELL Signature Residences, but you’ll find Delos’ work scattered across the country, starting with the Meatpacking Loft in Manhattan, Delos’ first healthy living project. Also on the list are Wellness Suites at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio and the Stay Well rooms at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Philly students will be getting healthier next fall when the Legacy of Drexel Arms near St. Joseph’s University opens WELL Signature Suites.