Taking product orders drives business for companies that provide a good or service. But focusing solely on orders can cause a business to fail.
In the multifamily industry, along with taking customer orders, an organization that hopes to remain successful must be able to peek into the future and understand the path ahead for consumers—what will residents' demands be in five, 10, and 15 years?
JPI, the developer selected for the 2017 Multifamily Executive Concept Community, Next Generation Development, has an eye on what the future holds. Chuck Berberich, JPI's vice president, design management, Central region, explains his company's aim to keep progressing and capture what's next in apartment development.
“Part of what JPI does, and part of our development strategy, is to be on top of our market; so we have to be looking at what's next,” Berberich says. “What sets us apart from the competition? What is no one else doing? What is unique and memorable? Every day, we look at that conceptually. We challenge our design teams to understand how [product] touches the five senses. The resident’s first experience [with the product]—that's what's going to help set us apart, from a design standpoint.”
Berberich says that at JPI, the design team is always looking at new technologies—what's cutting edge—that can be incorporated into multifamily development.
The team takes the same approach in management. For example, for its projects, JPI uses a design manager, an individual who is an architect by training and profession. Berberich says the role is unique among developers and benefits JPI because architects are precisely the type of people who are always thinking about and considering new products and technologies to optimize development.
“We think about how we [can] build differently, at some level,” Berberich says.
Berberich says the main outside industry JPI focuses on learning from is the hospitality sector. “Conceptually, we make an effort to design common areas like high-end boutique hotels do,” he says. “We also look to the high-end club industry for concierge services, and what they provide, and how we can adapt it or share it with our residents. We want to give them an element of the private-club experience.”
JPI has also re-examined structural parking garages to make them more efficient and user friendly. For example, the company has improved the level of finishes in its garages, adding stained or scored floors, enhancing the finishes on the walls, and, in general, making parking structures a more-inviting, less-scary part of the resident experience.
Berberich is quick to point out that it’s all a learning experience. The firm is tracking new ways to build buildings, but not jumping in feet first. Rather, JPI makes a commitment to learning from each concept it explores. For instance, the developer is currently experimenting with variant refrigerant technology because it requires less space than traditional refrigeration and offers energy efficiencies.
These experiments and experiences with new technologies and innovations are based on a very complicated equation. “We take some very calculated risks on some things, and we obviously look at it a little differently and [are willing to] try something that has some potential or kinetic energy, even if the ROI may not be as strong,” Berberich says.
He sees the link between his company's focus on innovation and the Next Generation Development as being an optimal opportunity to act as a think tank and take a very focused approach to the concepts of modular construction and sustainability.
“What I’m most excited about [with the Next Generation Development] is we're approaching it like nothing is off the table,” Berberich says. “Ultimately, with the Concept Community, we're thinking more into the future and thinking bigger about it.
"We don’t have to solve it next week, or in a few weeks, or even in a few years," continues Berberich, "but it’s further reaching than that. It’s so conceptual that we think, in 10 or 15 years, we’ll see if it’s the same journey the industry took to get where it is [now].”
For updates on the 2017 MFE Concept Community and JPI's innovation track, visit www.multifamilyexecutive.com/mfe-concept-community.
