WITH THE MILITARY IN HER DNA, IT CAME AS NO SURPRISE WHEN MARIA Pietroforte decided to join Corvias Military Living (formerly Picerne Military Housing), nearly three years ago.
Growing up with a Marine for a father, Pietroforte witnessed firsthand the effects a military lifestyle can have on service members and their families, an experience that influenced her choice of employer. One thing she noticed in particular was the lack of housing for single military personnel.
“Family housing was truly family, no single people,” says Pietroforte, senior vice president of Fort Meade, Md.–based Corvias.
The privatization of military housing more than 15 years ago enabled developers to provide comfortable housing for families, with amenities they hadn’t been accustomed to.
“Now, we have the opportunity to do the same thing for a single soldier,” Pietroforte says.
And it’s safe to say Pietroforte’s market-rate background is influencing a change. As former president of rental divisions at San Jose, Calif.–based Move.com and senior vice president at San Diego–based LeaseLabs, she was on the cutting edge of multifamily marketing.
“What you find in the market-rate world is that sometimes we’re a bit more focused on the bottom line or the net operating income,” she says. “But [Corvias’] entire mission [is] to enhance the lives and the residential experience of military soldiers and their families.”
Pietroforte hopes to bridge the gap between the two worlds starting with Reece Crossings at Fort Meade, the first instance of apartment-style homes available for single service members, and the first public–private partnership of its kind with the U.S. Army to develop barracks-stye housing.
“That’s the first time we built a product like that,” she says. “And it perfectly matches my background.”
