Multifamily Collaboration on a Big Scale

2012 has been a great year for the Multifamily industry. There are new opportunities, developments and technological advances everyday. One of the ways to fully capitalize on what’s happening is by putting yourself out there through networking and sharing information with other professionals.
There has been a sea change when it comes to information and tools of the trade; and while, there will always be a sense of competition in the real estate markets, nowadays, it is better for business to create content, share what you know and be willing to teach and learn from others.

This will be an implicit underlying theme of the 2012 Fall Leadership Conference, the Institute of Real Estate Management’s (IREM’s) flagship event held on Oct 16 – Oct 20th. The goal is to build leadership in management skills and connect management professionals with one another.


I am honored to be speaking in a session called “My First Green Project.” It will be a panel discussion with Dennis Skelly of Liberty Property Trust, and moderated by Dustin Gellman of Green Point Partners. We will be discussing our company’s green initiatives and the peaks and valleys associated with such projects. While Mr. Skelly will be focused on his macro level commercial experience managing portfolio –wide sustainability, I will be on the micro-level, speaking on apartment resident engagement and behavior changes. For those whom are attending this session it will be a great opportunity to discuss difficulties, challenges and lessons learned from others’ experience.

Green property management, or property management that used green techniques and technologies, is hitting full stride right now. It has not, however, been on the ground running for long. There are emerging best practices, but it is still a fairly open format game where new ideas and tools continue to influence the property management landscape. This session will be a great opportunity for us all to learn tricks and tips, what the emerging technologies are, and ways to better service our clients and tenants.

One of the things I am looking forward to the most is the opportunity to connect with other professionals and pushing the green property management envelope. I believe Green is the direction all property management is headed, and while it is still ahead of the curve (only slightly nowadays) it will be status quo soon. And why not? Green features are fueling the multifamily amenity race; energy performance is defining portfolio success; systems’ load reductions are adding life and value to assets. [See my previous post on Going Green and Saving Money] We have ushered in green dynamics to the industry and it will be motivating to have those wanting to learn techniques share and discuss with those whom have years under their belt.


Contributing Author:

Justin Larson 
VP / Director of Sustainability
Block Real Estate Services
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