July 2015 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly —
Page 37
multifamily development inThornton
with 164 multifamily affordable hous-
ing units, will start in early August.
Palace Construction will partner with
the Adams County Housing Authority
to conduct a complete interior, exterior
and site renovation in order to improve
the functionality, appearance and over-
all energy efficiency of the property.
“Renovation is different from new
construction in that we will be tem-
porarily disrupting the lives of our
residents,” said SarahVogl, manager of
development at Adams County Hous-
ing Authority. “We will be trying to
minimize the disruption while maxi-
mizing the access for construction on
this project.”
Palace Construction is also working
with Boulder Housing Partners on a
major renovation project, Project Reno-
vate.The project involves the interior,
exterior and site renovation of fewer
than 300 units on six different multi-
family sites in Boulder. Construction is
scheduled to start in October. All of the
sites are occupied and will have phased
vacancies.
“We will temporarily relocate resi-
dents while we renovate their apart-
ments,” said Laura Sheinbaum, senior
project manager at Boulder Housing
Partners. “We have worked with Palace
on many occupied renovation projects
and they are a tremendous partner in
working with our residents. Because
the sites will be occupied while we
renovate, BHP and Palace will also pay
great attention to resident safety and
security during construction.”
Finding the Right Subcontractors
During the recession, the construc-
tion industry lost thousands of jobs,
and most of the skilled tradesmen who
left for other industries did not return
when the economy recovered.Today,
construction jobs are plentiful, but the
number of skilled tradesmen, such as
plumbers, framers and electricians, has
decreased substantially.This is a critical
problem for all construction, including
affordable housing renovations.
“Subcontractors are stretched very
thin these days,” said Keith Morse,
preconstruction manager and chief
estimator at Palace Construction. “It’s a
volatile situation and doesn’t seem to
be getting better anytime soon.We’ve
had many subcontractors tell us they
can’t work with us because they are
already taking on too much.”
It is important to create strong
partnerships with the subcontractor
community, especially during these
times. Forging relationships by working
closely with subcontractors to develop
realistic schedules, negotiating con-
tracts to make sure they are paid on
time and helping with the purchase of
construction materials can be vital to a
construction company’s success.
“Taking a true team approach to con-
struction provides the owners with top
craftsmanship and value,” said Dennis
Kassian, owner and principal of ADK
Electric. “Working on renovation proj-
ects is challenging because there are
always unforeseen conditions. Being
prepared for these conditions and get-
ting support from the construction
team help make our projects success-
ful.”
s
Amenities
I
magine tenants walking through
the door of a luxury rental unit to
find everything just the way they
like it.The door opens with a fin-
gerprint on a smartphone, favor-
ite music is playing, window blinds
automatically block the late-afternoon
sun and the temperature is perfect.
Now imagine the building owner is
able to charge premium rates, mini-
mize turnover, meet energy conserva-
tion measures, and remotely monitor
security or vandalism concerns – while
bringing in eager tenants. And the best
part is the technology pays for itself.
Sounds like multiunit utopia, doesn’t
it?Yet these are the benefits of today’s
smart-home boom. And by planning
for smart-home needs during the build
phase, multifamily properties can be
equipped to meet interactive home
needs well into the future.
Smart-Home Technology
Love it or hate it, most of us, especial-
ly affluent tenants, rely on electronic
devices for everything fromwork to
navigation to entertainment. A Decem-
ber Pew study found that 85 percent of
U.S. young adults, and all adults with
incomes over $75,000, own a smart-
phone.These millions of consumers
depend on apps to navigate their daily
lives. In fact, millennials in particular
no longer regard apps as a privilege, but
rather an expectation – and they want
every other aspect of their home to be
just as easy.
Connected smart technology, collec-
tively known as the Internet of Things,
or IoT, pours into the marketplace at
an astonishing rate. In the past, home
automation was considered a luxury or
a Jetsons-inspired fantasy, but soon it
will be the standard for everyone, espe-
cially in the high-end rental market. By
2022, experts predict there will be more
than 500 connected devices in a typical
American home.The market for smart-
home products is growing at a rate of
17 percent per year, and is expected to
reach more than $58 billion by 2020.
Where DoesMultifamily Fit In?
Residents of single-family and mul-
tifamily homes alike want amenities
that make their lives easier while pro-
viding peace of mind. From remote
access to security systems, to auto-
matic energy-saving settings, to one-
touch control for the perfect wake-up
or movie night scene, the connected
home provides the ultimate conve-
nience.
In a competitive marketplace, auto-
mated multifamily units can give
developers the upper hand. In fact,
buyers and renters are 85 percent more
likely to choose an
automated unit over
a nonautomated
unit.This is espe-
cially true for the
millennial genera-
tion who now expect
automation trends
that support multi-
tasking, and other
technology, to follow
them to their next
apartment.
And yet multifam-
ily apartment build-
ings are woefully
behind in adopting
– and adapting to – the smart-home
trend.While smart homes have been
on the rise for a decade, the multifam-
ily market just got on board in the last
couple of years with a few forward-
thinking “early adopter” commercial
developers bringing the trend to cities
like Denver. Of course, part of this is
due to the demands of scale. But devel-
opers who jump on board the smart-
home trend now have a crucial edge
in attracting sophisticated, high-end
tenants.
Benefits for Developers
It’s easy to see how residents could
be sold on the convenience and luxury
of smart-home living, but smart homes
also benefit developers, from energy
savings to increasingly efficient prop-
erty management. For builders, devel-
opers and managers, the benefits of
smart-home amenities in a multiunit
building include:
Tenant appeal.
Nothing says “latest
and greatest” like smart-home technol-
ogy.These days, everyone offers granite
countertops and hardwood floors. For
busy professionals who seek out high-
end leasing, smart features seal the
deal.
Energy savings.
Presence and proximi-
ty sensors, motion detectors, and linked
thermostats and lighting controls mean
that more than ever, utilities can be
used only when residents need them.
In a large building, savings add up dra-
matically, and support regulatory com-
pliance with conservation measures.
Management ease.
Smart technology
allows property management to moni-
tor unoccupied units.With a few taps
of a keyboard, managers can verify
windows and doors are secure, adjust
temperature prior to a showing and
monitor for movement.These smart
tools apply to a building’s public spaces,
too.
Simplified notifications.
With smart
technology, management can send
information to tenants’ devices – from
package delivery notices to safety
alerts. No more tacky flyers or ques-
tionable contractors on the property;
and no more debates about whether
someone received a notice by mail or
email.
Feasibility on aMultiunit Scale
How does a commercial developer
make smart technology feasible at
this level? Making a building “smart”
requires little additional space.These
items can help:
Planning.
One key is to integrate
smart features into construction. A
company with strong expertise in
designing and installing smart technol-
ogy can anticipate tomorrow’s needs
and help future-proof the building’s
smart amenities.Yet even for retrofits
of historic buildings, the right partner
can make smart-home workable.
Wiring.
Copper wiring, long the stan-
dard of excellence, is being replaced by
fiber, which can carry data loads that
significant smart features throughout a
multiunit structure demand.
Infrastructure.
Many smart features
operate by proximity, often via wire-
less Internet, Bluetooth or protocols
designed specifically for connected
homes, like Z-Wave and ZigBee.We’ve
all had the experience of watching
a smartphone seek connection in a
bunker-like arena. Planning ahead can
avoid obstacles to wireless transmis-
sion that are maddening for tenants.
The connected home is becoming
the standard. Buyers and renters are
expecting it, and developers are start-
ing to deliver. Soon, most multifamily
properties will offer a connected home
controlled by one single app – and ten-
ants will not only embrace it, they will
love it.
s
Mark Constable
Technology adviser,
multifamily
business
development,
Xssentials, Denver
Young adults with smartphones depend on apps to navigate their daily lives.
Lighting, temperature and window blinds can be controlled by an app on a smartphone
or tablet.
