Rent one flat get one dog free
Photo: Instagram
Renting a flat can be a lonely existence, espeically if your landlord does not permit pets. In Washington's 2M, though, that will not be a problem: tenants will get a dog for free when they sign the contract.
Emmy, a six-month-old miniature bulldog, will become the apartment block's newest resident next month. The dog, named after the building's brand, will be available for tenants to take for walks or simply hang out in their apartment - think a library book, but with legs and a tail.
Speaking to The Washington Post, the company says that she may well be the first communal dog.
“I was sitting at a cafe one day, and we saw a puppy come in and everyone just stopped in their tracks and came alive,” Holli Beckman, a vice president at the property's owners, William C. Smith & Co, told the Post. “And it just dawned on me that everyone loves doggies and babies, right?”
Indeed, the world's restaurant industry has been caught up in something of a communal animal craze ever since a cat cafe in Japan - where in-house cats are provided for customers to pet - generated media headlines.
Emmy lives in a doghouse that is a replica of the building. It may sound like a gimmick, but the move is the next step in a sector that is becoming increasingly crowded. Apartments have been popping up all over the city in an attempt to capitalise on demand from tenants. More than 18,000 flats will complete this year, according to Delta Associates, 69 per cent higher than 2013.
But with more properties comes fiercer competition - and the days when a pretty kitchen or a swimming pool were enough to stand out from the Pack are long gone.
One building, a block away from 2M, tells the paper that even with a rooftop spa, cinema, soundproof "jam rooms", 24-hour concierge, a dry cleaning service and copious discounts, occupancy rates are still below 90 per cent.
“There’s nothing you can do,” Jonathan B. Cox, senior vice president at Arlington-based AvalonBay Communities, says. “When you’re leasing apartments with a lot of the competition at the same time, it’s a problem.”
For 2M, then, Emmy is a natural progression in a dog-eat-dog market. How will it work exactly?
Spokesman WC Smith explains to The Daily Mail: "Emmy is primarily cared for by our property manager, Doug. Once 2M is open, she will spend most of the day lounging in the leasing office with our team, returning home with Doug in the evenings. Residents are encouraged to come and say hello, and they will certainly see her out in the private dog park, playing with her fellow dog residents."
Emmy is set to become an increasingly active part of the property's lifestyle - as well as its market. She now has her own page on the website and even an Instagram account: 2Mpup.
"My favorite spots are the Rufftop Zen Garden, the private Puppy Playground, and the Grand Lobby, where I can meet and greet my new neighbors," she writes on 2MStreet.com.
"I am currently working towards my doggy degree that will earn me a spot at the concierge desk."
Will the bulldog give them the bite to take a chunk out of the competition? As Emmy puts it in her own YouTube video, "it's a ruff job, but some puppy's got to do it".