The Package Room Retrofit: Turning Underused Building Space into a Resident Amenity

In high-end apartments, the evening routine often includes one stop on the way upstairs to collect the day’s deliveries, from running shoes to a case of wine. Across the country, at least half of rental homes sit in buildings older than online shopping.

According to Harvard’s America’s Rental Housing 2026 report, the median U.S. rental home was 45 years old in 2023. The same report found that the cost of material inputs to new residential construction rose 42% between January 2020 and December 2025.

Meanwhile, U.S. parcel volume reached 23.1 billion shipments in 2025, up 3.3% from the prior year, according to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index. Every year, the room that handles those deliveries matters more.

With buildings this old and new construction this costly, converting a room you already have makes more sense than building one. A former business center or storage room can become a package room open around the clock. The steps below cover the retrofit from the first walk-through to your first evening pickup.

Planning Your Package Room Retrofit

Approach the project the way you would any thoughtful renovation. You begin with the room itself, then plan for capacity, access, finishes, and the moment you introduce the space to residents. Keep your floor plans and a few months of delivery logs close by, since you will return to both often.

Begin with the Rooms You Already Have

Set aside an afternoon to walk your ground floor and lower levels, listing every underused room. Many older buildings include rooms ready for a new purpose, such as a business center or a second fitness studio.

The best candidates sit close to both the courier entrance and the path residents take home. Couriers and staff make shorter trips, and residents can collect parcels along their usual route. Look for a lockable door with power and network access nearby.

Measure the walls as well as the floor, since open shelving lines the perimeter. Confirm that couriers and staff can bring furniture and other oversized deliveries through the door. A custom layout can also fit L-shaped rooms and spaces with columns.

Plan for the Busiest Weeks of the Year

Before you sketch a single shelf, review your delivery logs. Note what a typical day looks like, then look closely at the weeks around the holidays, when delivery volume reaches its peak. Your front-desk team knows the building’s daily patterns, so ask them when residents most often come by for parcels.

If you size the room for December, you will have comfortable space the rest of the year. Leave room for growth as well. E-commerce made up 17.1% of U.S. retail sales in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Census Bureau’s quarterly e-commerce report. Online sales rose 12.2% from a year earlier.

From there, sketch zones for standard and flat parcels with a dedicated corner for oversized items. Add a built-in refrigeration unit for groceries and meal kits. Choose open shelving, which holds more parcels per linear foot than lockers.

Make Every Pickup Effortless

Residents appreciate a package room they can visit on their own schedule, whether they come home at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday or long after midnight. A smart package room offers 24/7 access with minimal staff involvement.

Couriers and staff scan parcels into the room, and residents receive automatic text and email alerts with a secure access code. Inside, light and laser guidance lead each resident to the right shelf, so pickup takes only seconds.

Presence sensors monitor personnel in the room 24/7. Time-stamped logs track each parcel from the time it is delivered into the room, giving your team a clear chain of custody. Your on-site team gains back hours for leasing and resident care, and residents spend less of their evening on pickup.

Give the Room the Care of a Lobby

Residents pass through the package room as part of their daily routine, so give it the same care you give the lobby. Draw on timeless quiet luxury principles, beginning with proportion, and scale the shelving and furnishings to the size of the room. Carry your lobby’s color palette into the space so that it feels like part of the same building.

Choose porcelain tile and brushed metal hardware, both of which resist wear from daily use. Layer warm lighting overhead and along the shelving to make the room feel inviting at any hour. Add a small counter for opening parcels and a recycling station for flattened boxes. Place clear signage at the entrance to guide first-time visitors.

Welcome Residents and Prospects In

Once the room is ready, introduce it the way you would any amenity you are proud of. Add it to your tour route and invite prospects to try a demo pickup so that they can watch light and laser guidance lead them to a parcel. Share photos of the finished room in your listings alongside the gym and the lounge. Mention it in renewal conversations to let current residents know about the upgrade.

Luxury design has shifted from bigger gyms and pools toward quieter, more personal rooms. That demand for calm is why the private library is returning to luxury residential design. A well-finished package room brings some of that calm to an everyday routine.

Making Room for Everyday Comfort

With a package room retrofit, you give residents an amenity they use week after week, built from square footage you already own. Start with the right room, plan for your busiest season, make pickup effortless, finish the space with care, and introduce it with pride.

This week, walk your ground floor with a tape measure and last December’s delivery logs in hand. Once you find the room that fits, you have the starting point for your retrofit plan.

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