Easton Yards Learnings, Part 2: Key Takeaways from the Project
Easton Yards recreation lounge. View more photos here.
Read part one in the two-part series about Easton Yards here.
A development experience worth celebrating
Jennifer shared her learnings from working on the Easton Yards project:
Hire for experience if you do not possess the experience yourself. Like any good partnership, you need experts in each respective area. Sourcing deals is different than developing a project. It’s important to know your weakness. Know what you are not good at and hire the experts who can bring value to the project and a level of expertise that can elevate your project to completion.
Try to prevent the mistakes. Hiring the right team will help avoid mistakes and prevent costly delays, but you have to be willing to hear another point of view even when it is not something you want to hear. You have to be willing to adjust quickly when a problem arises. There is no substitute for educating yourself but using someone with local expertise is critical to success. Look to the municipality for zoning and code requirements. After all - knowing what is required is key to completing the project. Talk to other developers in the area to find out what struggles they are dealing with and hopefully you can avoid them or learn from them.
Be proactive and prepared. Construction is rarely smooth. Environment, economy, supply chain, labor force—there’s always something that throws off the plan. You must expect that something will go wrong, so try to plan in advance for those moments. Consider zoning regulations that will be required for redevelopment. Make sure you know what that fine print says when planning the project. Take a proactive approach to everything you’re doing instead of waiting for it to happen and having to react.
Set clear expectations. We did a great job of setting expectations with the tenants. The amount of times these people were moved around and changed would have made anyone irate. We were highly communicative with them, almost to an excess. When there were issues, we were honest with them. That was a major help in softening the blow for some people when this project did not go according to plan.
Make it fun. We made the move-in day fun—it had high energy. We did an open house for move-ins resulting in about 30 units moving in simultaneously. Tenants were meeting each other as we escorted them through the building on a guided tour. We helped them with the web portal, learn how the trash chute worked and how to gain access to all the common spaces. We showed them how everything worked in their unit and answered all their questions. It was a very successful day and if given the chance, we would do it all over again this same way.
We kept the right focus. We tried to find the middle ground—we worked for the owners and our job was to protect their investment. Yet, we can’t be oblivious about the tenants who will be their customers for a long time. We balanced it by looking at things from both perspectives and tried to offer a well-rounded suggestion on how to deal with any issue that arose so everyone was satisfied in the end with the decisions.
Celebrate the wins. Most developments like Easton Yards are under 80% leased when construction is completed— and we were able to achieve a 100% leased project prior to construction completion. We asked for hold deposits on units as we toured them to create a sense of urgency around leasing. The prospective tenants were very willing to do that. We got great momentum from the very beginning which ultimately led to a fully occupied building. From the very beginning we created an experience. The tours we hosted were private and personal- averaging 20-45 minutes each as we walked the entire building and helped them envision their home at Easton Yards.
Be prepared for move-in day. We paid attention to service contracts (garbage and snow removal)—we were moving tenants in during the height of the winter (February). The stress to the building on move-in day was a big source of potential issues that we had to manage. Give special attention to the first 30 days as the services like trash may need to initially be more often. Consider the amount of boxes from moving versus a normal living conditions.
Be creative with leases. We didn’t run any specials because we didn’t need to. 30 people were moving in on 2/15/22. To avoid 30 potential moves outs next year at the same time we staggered leases and made them anywhere from 12-24 months long to control future leasing.
Look for financial opportunities. Ultimately we ended up leasing the project for far more than the original projection. We increased each unit $300-$400 per unit on average. We raised the last few units an extra $100-$125. We rented out storage and parking spaces versus a free service. We were not afraid to be aggressive. We had a luxury product and we knew how to sell it- so we did!
Complete the job with quality follow up. We needed to manage expectations beyond move-in day. Common in new construction is a process called a punch list. These are items marked on a walkthrough with the developer that will get fixed under warranty. By doing the same thing at Easton Yards, we were able to communicate with the tenants effectively and give ourselves time to complete 59 units worth of repairs. We found things along the way such as dishwashers not hooked up correctly or washing machines that were not balanced. Some items were handled immediately but other things like cosmetic fixes were given more time to complete. Additionally, we offered an upgrade list to the Tenants. These were items they paid for above their and beyond their rent. This list consisted of move-in help, hanging pictures or a TV on the wall, building furniture, etc. This idea was very well received amongst the tenants.
All in all, the Easton Yards project was a big learning experience for our team and the owners. It was also an incredible example of our commitment to our clients and their customers—the tenants. I am humbled by the level of attention and care my team brought to an, at times, very stressful project. Without a doubt, I would do it all over again!
—Jennifer