The art of customizing apartment living

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 19, 2003 by Trish Hoffman-Ahrens

Many of the most popular and desirable luxury apartment spaces today are built by using the combined expertise of creative developers and the suggestions of residents themselves, resulting in the evolution of apartment "communities."

From customized apartment community social events to reinvented apartment space, more and more multifamily developers are customizing properties to meet the unique needs of their residents.

Scouting it Out

As the blueprints are drawn in preparation for building a new community, multifamily developers now seek the help of professional third-party research groups to conduct concentrated demographic ring studies, in order to identify some of the key characteristics of a region's average renter.

After taking a sample of the population within a three, five- or even 10-mile radius of the new community, researchers are able to supply multifamily developers with helpful information about potential residents.

Some of the characteristics that developers take into consideration when planning a customized community include a potential resident's age, marital status, profession, education, immediate family size and social interests.

Once basic demographic information is gathered, multifamily developers conduct focus group surveys, with the participation of both current and prospective residents, to gain important feedback on the general likes and dislikes of apartment living.

Focus group participants are often given a number of floor plans to review and are then encouraged to give their opinion on space considerations, from closet size and kitchen cabinet space to the finer details of paint color and the selection.

Information gathered in these focus groups is extremely valuable. For instance, the most popular feature suggested by Houston area focus group participants and residents alike are large, oval bathtubs. In general, resident suggestions to create larger bathrooms and kitchens within the individual units have helped developers reinvent the basic apartment space.

Computer built-ins are another feature that residents list as a top priority, with covered parking and personal garages often being mentioned as "must-haves."

Another way to determine what residents prefer is to perform "competitive shopping." It is standard for developers to walk through the properties of area competitors to find ways for their new communities to be even better.

Features such as amenities, functionality of successful floor plans, resident services and pricing are all researched for comparison.

After reviewing this information, multifamily developers turn to local architects for ideas regarding the latest design trends. The final blueprints of the new community reveal a customized, multifamily community built to suit the demographic characteristics of apartment residents in a particular area.

A Community Evolves

Tailored resident service does not stop once construction is complete. As individual units begin to fill, apartment developers have begun to organize a whole lifestyle concept around a community's residents.

This includes offering online Intranet or virtual communities to residents, amenities such as media centers and movie theaters, customized community events and more.

Many young professionals choose to live in an apartment and have the flexibility to work from home. For this reason, apartment communities are enhancing their computer centers with state-of-the-art equipment to help business professionals work from a complete home office. Many communities are also adding conference rooms to their clubhouses, which are reserved specifically for a resident's private use.

Fitness centers have been enhanced significantly from the basic treadmill and a few sets of dumbbells. Apartment communities now add cutting edge machines, audio/ video systems and personal trainers to workout facilities to offer residents fitness options and to draw residents out of their apartments to meet their neighbors.

Communities also organize social events with resident interests in mind. This personalized service starts with hiring a staff at each community that is skilled in sales and customer service and dedicated to making the residents' best interests at home a main priority.

At some communities, each new resident is asked to complete a survey, which allows the staff to identify their personal interests and hobbies. After careful review of all residents' feedback, the staff is then able to offer activities on site for residents with common interests. This helps promote the intangible feeling of community that makes apartment dwellers feel at home.

Examples of such activities are as simple as buffet breakfasts in community clubhouses, holiday theme parties, specialty cooking classes, after school activities for kids and pool parties during the summer months. Many communities also offer monthly happy hours and wine and cheese tastings for residents who wish to mix and mingle with their neighbors. These parties can be designed for residents to make friends or business contacts.