2026 Spring Preview: Luis Mendonca, Elite Wellness Amenity Group

What trends or market activity are you seeing as we move into the spring season? As we move into spring, I’m seeing multifamily owners become much more focused on amenity performance, resident retention, and differentiation as rent growth remains uneven and concessions are still part of the leasing environment in many markets. Wellness is moving from passive amenity to active operating strategy. Owners want amenities that do more than look good on tours—they want programming, engagement, and measurable performance. Wellness activation helps turn underused gyms into resident-value drivers that support leasing, satisfaction, and retention.

What projects, initiatives, or types of work are currently keeping your team busiest? A big part of our work right now is helping multifamily owners rethink how their fitness amenities operate. Many buildings already have the square footage, but the space is passive and underused. We’re focused on activating those amenities through on-site coaching, wellness programming, rewards-based engagement, and better resident participation. That matters in today’s CRE environment because owners are looking for lower-CapEx ways to strengthen the resident experience, improve utilization, and create more measurable value from amenities they already have in place.

What opportunities or challenges do you see shaping the commercial real estate landscape over the next several months? One of the biggest opportunities I see is for owners to get more performance out of existing assets without major redevelopment. In a market where operators are still watching costs closely and competing harder for resident loyalty, underused amenities represent a real opportunity. The challenge is that a static gym or lounge no longer creates enough differentiation on its own. The properties that will stand out are the ones that activate wellness as an experience—because engagement, community, and resident satisfaction are becoming more important to leasing and long-term asset performance.