LOS ANGELES—"People are more fickle and exposed to a lot more product all around the world so you legitimately have to put a lot of thought into designing, where you are developing product, where tech jobs will be and more." So said Neils Cotter, VP of development at Carmel Partners, a speaker on the development panel at a recent RealShare Apartments conference here in Los Angeles. According to Cotter, when you are designing space, there has to be a big focus on a shared experience, and you must design for the future.
"You have to think about spaces two years from now," he said, "and you have to think about how to adapt and reuse those spaces 10 years from now."
According to Cotter, "we are starting to apply more of the hotel thinking on the multifamily side, where they have one night to get it right, and you either do or don't come back… There is more of a careful approach up front."
Chris Payne, president of the multifamily development group at Sares-Regis Group, explained that the hotel model is a good representation of where we are going. "It is really about diversification of product and integrating into the neighborhood versus picking up the same building you did over here… More customization as opposed to replication of product."
Cotter adds that another design challenge is the increased awareness of social media. "If it is not a good product, everyone will find out about it, and vice versa."
When asked about challenges to developers pertaining to demographics, Cotter noted that every age group is more focused on optionality and flexibility. "Trends are shifting faster than ever before based on technology, which is changing the way we operate."
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
