‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: JetBlue Thinks Outside the Box

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Jan 222012

If you ever get stuck at Pittsburgh International Airport, count on having a pretty good time. The restaurants are nothing out of the ordinary, but the retail experience is extensive with brands not found at other airports. Gap, Godiva, Nine West, Rite Aid and Brooks Brothers are just a few retailers in the extensive Air Mall. If you’re not in the mood for shopping, how about a manicure, massage or haircut? In its own effort to stand apart and build customer loyalty, JetBlue’s ultra-cool Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York—designed by Rockwell Group with Gensler—now features an online shopping kiosk that connects multi-tasking travelers with Kohl’s department store merchandise. But much more monumental is JetBlue’s Live from T5 concert series which debuted in May 2009. Developed in partnership with Superfly Marketing Group, the concert series has brought something new and different to the travel experience by producing live entertainment for customers traveling through JetBlue’s state-of-the-art Terminal 5. Live from T5 features artists from around the world. All performances take place post-security in the terminal marketplace. Another reason to go with JetBlue. Are there any take-aways from JetBlue’s initiative for apartment marketers?

Photo by Diana Mosher

Posted by dMosher at 6:25 pm Tagged with: , ,

‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: Weigh in on S&P’s Debt Downgrade and Other Topics

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Nov 112011

Have you visited the MHN home page lately? Next time you’re there, we hope you’ll take a minute or two to share your viewpoint by participating in our poll. The topic right now is President Obama’s new mortgage plan allowing more underwater homeowners to restructure their Fannie/Freddie mortgages. We want to know if you think the plan will:

1) Slow multifamily growth because it well help the market swing back to homeownership; 2) Help multifamily growth because Gen-Y does not see the importance of homeownership; 3) Have no impact on multifamily; or 4) It’s too soon to tell.

The previous poll was about the impact of Standard & Poor’s U.S. debt downgrade on the multifamily industry. These are the results:

  • 21 percent of respondents said “a large impact”
  • 48 percent said “a negligible impact”
  • 31 percent said “no impact on the multifamily industry“

MHN’s finance expert Keat Foong interviewed James Manzi at Standard & Poor’s for the November issue of the MHN magazine (click here for our digital edition). Their conversation covered a range of topics from the possibility of a  double dip recession to S&P’s thoughts on eliminating the GSEs. Email me at dmosher@multi-housingnews.com to suggest other poll topics as well as compelling people and companies you’d like to see covered in MHN Online.

Posted by dMosher at 7:31 am Tagged with: , ,

‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: Playing the ‘Community Living’ Card

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Oct 262011

People…. Planet…. Profit… Sounds like a recipe for real estate success. In a recent “letter to the editor,” a reader introduced us to Su Casa Properties and its Urban Village concept which looks for synergies between people, planet and profit as it rides an important multifamily trend: creating community among residents.

The Urban Village concept is now operating in Arizona and Utah.

We visited the website designed to introduce investors to Su Casa Properties and also saw mention of  Four Cornerstones of Green Restructuring with a full spectrum of over 50 green solutions that are selectively applied based upon each property’s condition. These solutions range from programmable thermostats and low E replacement windows to solar attic fans and grey water collection for irrigation. This sounds like an interesting story for MHN Online Daily.

In the meantime, click here to watch a video produced by Su Casa Properties describing the organic way in which it encourages resident programs to take shape. Hopefully in the near future we’ll also be able to watch a video about the Four Cornerstones of Green Restructuring.

“We were blown away to find that each leg of the stool actually supported the other, and that social responsibility and profitability are not mutually exclusive,” said Peter Slaugh, General Partner and Managing Member of Su Casa Properties. “Happier residents are directly correlated to reduced operating costs. Incorporating the triple bottom line structure (People, Planet, Profit) has created a financially-sound and socially-responsible practice that focuses on social, environmental and financial performance.”

Posted by dMosher at 6:43 am Tagged with: , ,

‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: From Brewery to Apartments

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Oct 172011

Like other abandoned manufacturing facilities, the historic Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul, MN caught the attention of the multifamily sector as a candidate for redevelopment. The 1900 building—which has been described as resembling a castle on Germany’s Rhine River—was designed by Chicago architect Bernard Barthel who incorporated gothic decor and intricate brickwork into its towers, brew house and bottle house.

In 2002, after the property had changed hands several times, the last beer was bottled. The 15-acre site remained vacant since 2004. Apartment development and management company Dominium has had its eye on the property for years. Now, Dominium has the green light to transform the historic brewery into the Schmidt Artist Lofts, a $95 million rehab project that will provide affordable rental housing for artists.

Domium has invited the community to an open house celebration on Wednesday, October 26. St. Paul City Council Member Dave Thune, who was instrumental in helping the project obtain historic designation, will speak at the event, along with Mark Moorhouse of Dominium and Ed Johnson, the executive director of the West Seventh/Fort Road Federation. The first phase of the project (a rehab of the historic Rathskeller and front office building) is currently underway by St. Paul’s West Seventh/Fort Road Federation.

MHN Online Daily will be touching base with Dominium after their event for additional details. For more local news from the Minneapolis area, visit MHN City Pages.

Posted by dMosher at 8:26 am Tagged with: , ,

‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: A Green Conversation Starter for the Leasing Office’

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Oct 102011

As you’ll hear again if you read my Editor’s Note in the November issue of MHN (click here to subscribe), I think the USGBC’s GreenBuild conference and expo is an important event to attend. Skip a year every so often, and take turns attending, because new technologies take a while to evolve. But multifamily companies of all sizes would do well to get there every couple of years to stay abreast of new trends before they hit the mainstream. Have the team member(s) who attend the show present their most compelling products and conference take-aways during an in-house lunch and learn.

As usual GreenBuild 2011, which was held in Toronto last week, featured an overwhelming number of green products (as well as products that want to be perceived as green by keeping company with green products) on the show floor. We’ll be publishing our observations and videos from the show floor soon (click here to read two special reports posted by MHN so far).

In the meantime, here’s a preview of a product that a clever leasing team could use as a conversation starter about their community’s commitment to green living.

Ultra-green LED “task” light exhibited at GreenBuild is made from recycled e-waste.

You can tell prospects that your Heron LED task light is made by LittleFootprint Lighting, a California-based pioneer of sustainably designed LED task lighting products made in the USA from recycled materials, including plastic from e-waste. In fact, LittleFootprint Lighting is so green that it announced during GreenBuild its official designation as an “e-Stewards Enterprise.” LittleFootprint Lighting is the first e-Stewards Enterprise that actually makes products from recycled e-waste, “closing the loop” on plastics from e-waste.

“At this pivotal moment in the worldwide e-waste crisis, LittleFootprint Lighting joins a growing number of business, academic and governmental leaders taking action to stem a toxic tide,” said Jim Puckett, executive director of the Basel Action Network, creator of the e-Stewards program.

E-waste is the fastest growing element of the U.S. garbage stream. According to a report in Time Magazine, Americans throw out more than 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers every day. Improperly disposed-of lead, mercury and other toxic materials found inside e-waste can leak from landfills and pollute our communities.

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‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: The Highline is Another Reason to Join MHN in New York September 19

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Sep 012011

My second job after college was a writing gig in a behemoth building on West 15th Street in the Meatpacking District. Unfortunately this was before the redevelopment wave that later transformed the area into a hipster’s haven. And by the time the Meatpacking District redevelopment started to happen I had moved on to another job in a more vibrant part of Manhattan.

When it did arrive, the urban infill process began slowly: a gallery here, a designer clothing store there, then a boutique hotel and some restaurants to establish the necessary nightlife scene. And, not too long after that—or maybe simultaneously—the apartment buildings and condos started going up. At first I kept my distance from the newly trendy area. My opinion was colored by my memories of the Meatpacking District I had know so long ago—that was no place to hang out.
But in more recent years I’ve had business reasons to stop by and today I’m a fan of the neighborhood as well as the innovative High Line Park which keeps me going back for more.

I do want to point out that transforming an old elevated freight train track to a beautiful urban park is an idea that’s unique to this city. And, I’ve heard that planners from other cities here in the U.S. and beyond are interested in copying the idea in their own locales.

The High Line is located on Manhattan’s West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues. Section 1 of the High Line, which opened to the public on June 9, 2009, runs from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street. Section 2, between West 20th and West 30th Streets, opened this summer.

If you’ve never visited the area or are looking for an excuse to drop by again, you can kill two (scheduling) birds with one stone if you register for the MHN Excellence Awards cocktail party on Monday, September 19 at 5:30 pm. Click here for registration details.

MHN is partnering with Ohm—an exciting West Chelsea apartment community just around the corner from Section 2 of the High Line—developed by Douglaston Development. Please join us for a Q & A with Douglaston Development‘s Chairman Jeffrey Levine plus our special presentation of the winners of the 2011 MHN Excellence Awards followed by networking and cocktails on the terrace.

Plan your September 19 visit to The Highline Park—New York’s greatest attraction—and don’t miss our evening of awards and networking!

Posted by dMosher at 10:05 am Tagged with: , , ,

‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: Crosland Exits Development Scene

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Jul 082011

During the height of the recession we frequently heard about multifamily companies scaling back or eliminating the development arms of their companies in order to focus on property management activities.

These days the top headlines are much more focused on the opportunities associated with the next multifamily development boom. In fact, the entire May issue of MHN Magazine was devoted to this topic.

So I was surprised to hear that Charlotte-based developer Crosland has divested its retail, multifamily and residential development arms to focus exclusively on managing its existing assets.

But a closer look at the story reported by The News & Observer reveals that while Crosland is no longer a developer, its development projects have not been abandoned (we’re fans of their work so this is good news). Crosland sold its apartment development and construction units to North Carolina-based Ravin Partners LLC, led by David Ravin, former president of Crosland’s residential development division.

Posted by dMosher at 4:49 pm Tagged with: , ,

‘Editor’s Notebook’ Can You Meet the EPA’s Definition of Green Apartments?

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Jul 012010

My excellent colleague Natasha Selhi passed along some interesting information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this morning.

The EPA wants renters to know that, much like single family homeowners, they do have control over how green their apartment homes are; in fact, they can express their dissatisfaction with a current apartment community by moving to another.

According to EPA, “A common misconception is that renters have little control over the environmental impacts of their homes. The truth is that renters can influence many environmental aspects of their housing, from choosing where they live to adopting everyday practices that save energy and water.”

EPA has devised a checklist to help select a greener rental house or apartment, as well as to reduce bills and have a healthier and more comfortable indoor environment.

EPA suggests that “before you sign a lease, investigate its green features and quality of its indoor environment. Discuss the considerations [on the checklist] as well as any of your own, with your landlord. If the unit does not meet some of the criteria, use your bargaining power and inquire with the landlord about making some updates.”

How is your apartment community doing with green? And will this EPA checklist help—or hurt—your leasing effort?

Posted by dMosher at 9:11 am Tagged with: , , ,

‘Editor’s Notebook’ A Visit to the Wind Farm: My Missed Opportunity

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Jun 292010

It’s graduation season, and last weekend my sister-in-law threw a well-deserved party for our niece Monica who has completed high school. So, as planned, less than 24 hours (!) after I got home from NAA in New Orleans, I packed my overnight bag and we drove the five or so hours up to the Syracuse, NY area.

A highlight of my socializing with friends and family was the discovery that just 30 minutes away from my sister-in-law is a working wind farm. MHN reports on renewable energy trends, but here was an opportunity to see a real wind farm up close and personal… or at least from the viewing area outside. Located in Madison County, the Fenner Wind Farm produces electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of over 7,800 homes. The farm is owned by Enel North America and comprises 20 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines. It has been in operation since 2001 according to Community Energy whose page I landed on when Googling “Fenner Wind Farm.” Community Energy “leads the development and availability of fuel-free renewable energy with wind and solar power.” Its customers are utilities, businesses, institutions and individuals.

Unfortunately the graduation festivities went on longer than expected and my family vetoed the detour to the Fenner Wind Farm. But here’s a (not very flattering) stock art picture I found.

Even though this isn’t a great picture, I don’t agree that the turbines are ugly; in fact, I think they look quite graceful. What do you think about their appearance, and about NIMBYism in response to windfarms?

Posted by dMosher at 5:52 pm Tagged with: ,

‘Editor’s Notebook’ More Apartment Marketing Take-Aways (or ‘Tweets I Should Have Posted’)

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Jun 282010

I just got back from the NAA conference in New Orleans. Attended lots of great sessions with my MHN colleague Anu Kher (including Social Media Marketing Fact and Fiction and How Good Is Your Property’s Crisis Management Plan) enjoyed catching up with industry folks, shot lots of videos for MHN TV which we’ll begin posting this week, and saw some interesting products which we’ll cover in the August issue of MHN magazine.

On the flight back I came across some notes scribbled in April during the Apartment Internet Marketing Conference. I meant to turn them into something longer, but got busy with other projects. It’s time to clean house and move on, so I share them here. Let me know if they resonate. As always, I can be reached at dmosher@multi-housingnews.com.

• Real time information overload? Does social media dominate your time? You can remove yourself from the scene by committing “social media suicide.”

• Mass mingling = impromptu meetings being fostered by social media + mobile

• Is social media reputation management or a way to increase sales? No right or wrong answer. Use it as a proactive brand-driven sales discussion.

• The current information overload situation will result in much of the social commentary going ignored. We will only pay attention to known people.

• Geofencing: this time next year we will all be talking about this next step in mobile marketing

• Bar codes will be big. We’re ten years behind the times in the U.S.

• Now’s the time to explore 3D marketing software tools.

• Hire people to post online videos which will include the user. Trend will develop with prospect put into picture of community.

• Don’t ignore the power of live video chat customer service. Engagement helps to address concerns, answer questions for residents and prospects.

Click here for my report from AIM including how the field of neuromarketing can deliver more accurate focus group insights by measuring true subconscious reactions.

Posted by dMosher at 8:54 am Tagged with: ,
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