Building Amenity Spaces Tenants Actually Want to Use

How Strategic Construction Planning Transforms Amenity Floors Into a Building’s Strongest Asset

Across the markets Skyline serves, one trend is consistent: tenants and owners are demanding more from their buildings, especially when it comes to amenities. From wellness centers and speakeasies to conference suites and cafés, modern amenity spaces are no longer optional—they’re competitive differentiators.

But these environments are complex. They require intricate coordination, continuous stakeholder communication, and the ability to execute within occupied spaces. Here’s how Skyline builds amenity floors that function flawlessly and deliver lasting value.

1. Early Contractor Engagement Sets the Tone

Aligning vision, budget, and constructability from day one

Amenity spaces benefit when the general contractor is brought in before pricing or permitting begins. Early involvement enables real-time feedback on design, long lead procurement, and system integration.

Senior Project Manager Eric Touhey, who oversaw the One East Wacker 2nd floor amenity buildout in Chicago, emphasized just how essential this early involvement is. “Understanding the client’s budget and vision from the start lets us guide design in real time,” he said. “When we’re engaged early, we can flag lead times, coordinate with base building systems, and provide realistic cost feedback before issues appear on-site.”

This early visibility can fundamentally reshape design decisions. On the One East Wacker project, Skyline and its HVAC subcontractor revised the mechanical system layout entirely, opting for smaller VRF units and relocating equipment to the roof to maintain vaulted ceilings.

“We ensured the base building and new systems worked hand-in-hand,” Eric said. “The client ended up with a more functional space that still matched the design intent.”

Takeaway: Bring your GC in early. Amenities demand more coordination, more system integration, and more real-time cost transparency than a typical TI.

2. Treat Every Room as a Showpiece

Precision and finish matter everywhere

Unlike standard office buildouts, every inch of an amenity space is on display. At Tower 1201 in Seattle, that meant a dense, high-end floor packed with specialty rooms: a speakeasy, a golf simulator, a raised lounge, a library, and two conference rooms, including one with a massive modular video wall.

“It was a lot of unforeseen coordination,” said General Superintendent Shea Tonkin, who oversaw the buildout. “Every space needed its own level of precision. You’re not just building a room – you’re building an experience.”

In some cases, constructability leads to meaningful design improvements. When an oak floor pattern proved unworkable due to slab conditions, the Skyline team suggested replacing it with stepped seating overlooking the Puget Sound skyline.

“It became one of the coolest features,” Shea said. “People will naturally gravitate there.”

In San Francisco, Superintendent Todd Freeman applied the same mindset at the Levi’s Plaza project, an amenity hub with kitchens, dining rooms, a barista bar, and open gathering areas.

“We saw an opportunity to pour the substrate at different elevations so every finish – wood, tile, polished concrete – aligned perfectly,” Todd explained. “No transition strips, no reducers. The floor looked seamless.”

Takeaway: Amenity spaces demand a showpiece mindset. Every room carries the same design weight, requiring precision, coordination, and a willingness to elevate the experience when constructability allows.

3. Prioritize MEP Coordination from Day One

Build a feedback loop between trades, design, and ownership

While design sets the tone, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems are where amenity projects earn their reputation for complexity. Kitchens, wellness rooms, AV-heavy conference suites, and event spaces all require early decisions about power, ventilation, drainage, and controls.

For Eric, successfully implementing MEP at the One East Wacker project was paramount. “We had to route sanitary piping from a second-floor catering kitchen through a restaurant and three garage levels before tying into city lines,” he said. “That required intense coordination with engineers, tenants, and the design team to avoid disruption.”

In Seattle, ceiling congestion was one of Tower 1201’s biggest pain points. “The drawings looked clean on paper,” Shea said. “But the reality was that beams, sprinkler lines, heat pumps, and lighting were all competing for space. Getting every fixture to fit took constant collaboration.”

Todd added that food-service equipment raises the stakes even further. “With commercial kitchens, nothing is flexible,” he said. “You can’t build accurately until you know the exact equipment package. Power, water, data, gas — it all has to be right the first time.”

Takeaway: MEP coordination is not only a phase, it’s a continuous feedback loop.

4. Design for Sound and Vibration from the Start

Preventing disruption through proactive acoustic planning

Amenity spaces are active, energetic, and often louder than the rest of the building. Sound mitigation must be accounted for in the design process in order to avoid disruption, especially when work happens above or alongside occupied floors.

At One East Wacker, Skyline installed floating fitness flooring and high-performance mats. “We dropped weights during testing, and the tenants below couldn’t hear a thing,” Eric said. “That level of sound isolation doesn’t happen by accident.”

Shea described a similar approach at Tower 1201. “One hundred percent of the wood floors have sound mats underneath,” he added. “Walls extend to structure, and each room has acoustic treatments. We really thought through how sound travels.”

Todd emphasized the importance of texture and varied ceiling planes in larger amenity environments. “Plants, rugs, layered ceilings — all of it helps break up the sound wave. In big atrium settings, those small details make a huge difference.”

Takeaway: Good acoustics aren’t expensive. Reacting to bad acoustics is.

5. Make Accessibility Part of the Design

ADA compliance that blends with intentional design

ADA compliance doesn’t have to interrupt the space aesthetic. In the best amenity projects, it becomes part of the story.

“At Tower 1201, all the ADA areas looked intentional,” Shea said. “Benches matched the sauna wood, finishes blended seamlessly. Nothing felt like an add-on.”

Eric encountered a similar challenge when an event-stage ramp had to be integrated at OEW. “The requirements are straightforward, but the lengths of the ramp and finish details to integrate the ramp into the overall flooring design required some redesign on the fly.”

Takeaway: Accessible spaces should look like they belong, not like they were required.

The Result: Amenity Floors That Redefine the Workplace

Executed well, they attract tenants and elevate culture

A well-executed amenity floor becomes a magnet for tenants and a source of pride for building owners and management.

“We’ve seen it at One East Wacker,” Eric said. “The event space is constantly booked, and the amenity floor drives tenant satisfaction in a very real way.”

At Tower 1201, the same excitement has been brewing. “We were still hanging sheetrock, and the client was already bringing VIPs through,” Shea said. “They knew the space would be a difference-maker.”

But most importantly, building amenities send a strong message. “People feel supported,” Todd said, “and that boosts culture and performance.”