TouchCom developers aim to revolutionize apartment living

Real Estate Weekly, March 17, 1999

They're out to revolutionize apartment living! Five men with an array of expertise in real estate, design, consulting and telecommunications have come together to develop and market an information appliance that promises to make life easier for residents of multi-family properties.

Roger Gins is President and Founder of Habitat Communications. He is the driving force behind "TouchCom," an innovative wall-mounted touch-screen appliance that acts as a sort of "virtual concierge." Installed in each apartment, TouchCom provides residents with an array of useful information, including state-of-the-art video security, high-speed Internet access, and a direct link to a variety of building and community services. With the touch of a finger, the user can determine if the building's laundry facilities are in use, order groceries from the market down the street, and even check the weather forecast.

Gins founded New York-based Habitat Communications in August of 1997, but the idea for TouchCom came earlier, while he was working on a housing development

in Philadelphia. He realized the need for a system that would bring real estate and communications together, and also saw an opportunity to create a distribution channel between retailers and residential tenants. Hence, the evolution of TouchCom.

"Our mission is to become a premier residential Internet and communications services provider. Our dream is to make Habitat's information portal as commonplace as central heating and plumbing," said Gins.

Gins is the former Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Real Estate and Finance for the New York State Urban Development Corporation, where he handled the subsidiary finance and operations for the largest development effort undertaken by the State of New York. His experience includes positions in the Investment Banking Group and on the New York Large-Project Lending Team for the Real Estate Division of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. In addition, Gins has served in senior management roles as President of ViewPoint International and the Chief Operating Officer of Ardleigh Properties, an owner/developer of residential and commercial properties, comprising 17 operating companies.

When Gins decided to venture out on his own, his primary focus was bringing together a team of specialists to contribute their knowledge of technical design, installation, venture capital and marketing. Some members of Habitat are colleagues Gins worked with in the past, and others he recruited after intensive research. Gins says the group immediately gelled. "There's a fantastic synergy between us. All of the different pieces came together like a puzzle, with each person bringing his piece of knowledge to the table. We have all the key components essential to success."

The newest member of Habitat Communications is Chief Technology Officer Richard DiBello. He is a technical infrastructure architect who boasts 18 years of experience assisting Fortune 500 companies and technical start-ups to develop, implement and manage technical systems.

"The next phase in the "wired home" is to use the high-speed connections to the Internet as a conduit to compliment building services. My vision of these on-line interactive services and their deliverance to the customer via a simple touch-screen, "ATMish" device has been pursued by Habitat for the past 18 months," said DiBello.

Formerly President of The Automation Group, Inc., DiBello organized and orchestrated the fifth residential installation of high-speed Internet access using ADSL in New York City. He is responsible for the design, implementation and delivery of high-speed Internet access to properties such as The Grand Millennium, The Phillips Club, 1 Columbus Place, West End Towers, Trump International Hotel and Towers, and more.

Alan M. Schwartz, a real estate professional with more than 30 years of experience in the business, is Habitat's Director. His focus will be marketing TouchCom, and working closely with Gins to alert developers and property managers about the expansive merits of the device. Formerly Managing Director of Chase Manhattan Bank's Real Estate Finance Division, Schwartz was responsible for all real estate activities within the greater New York Metropolitan area and financed more than $3 billion of real estate transactions. He also worked for Kimco Development Corporation, a shopping center real estate investment trust, and for James Felt & Company, a multi-discipline real estate brokerage and consulting firm.

Robert McDougle has dubbed himself the company's "Design Wonk." His 22 years of design and consulting experience prepared him to become a valuable contributor to the development of TouchCom as Habitat's Chief Interface Designer. McDougle established himself in the real estate industry in 1976 with his own New York City interior design and consulting firm. His clients ranged from residential downtown developments to high-end art galleries, showrooms, boutiques and restaurants.

Habitat's entrepreneurial expert is Alex vanPutten. In addition to being Director and Chief Financial Officer of Habitat, he's also an Associated Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Wharton Business School, and a partner of Triad Consulting, Ltd. VanPutten also sits on the Board of Directors of JHPIEGO Inc, a division of Johns Hopkins University and LearnWare LLC, a subsidiary of Johns Hopkins University.