Student Housing Business is the voice of the student housing industry.
Issue link: https://studenthousingbusiness.epubxp.com/i/783396
THE SHB INTERVIE W StudentHousingBusiness.com January/February 2017 31 are convertible to maintain attrac- tiveness as generations of students live with us. To that end, tech- nology is a clear driver of design trends. Students require the high- est levels of connectivity both in their units as well as across the greater community. We often pro- vide cyber cafes, business centers much like hotels, gaming rooms and conference rooms with smart technology to assist with the way students study today. While tech- nology drives trends, so does the fact that students desire 'special- ized' amenities. For example, on multiple occasions we have pro- vided sound proof music cham- bers for those students in the arts. On a recent project in Pittsburgh, we included several grand pianos in the building to support student interest. For those students inter- ested in fitness, we provide well- equipped spaces, but also provide group fitness areas for yoga and other group programs. From proj- ect and operations perspectives, we continue to see replacement facilities dominating the new project development; the ideal of replacing the old inventory with competitive, highly technological and safe environments. We contin- ue to see the demand for balance between exceptional value and rental cost. Students seem willing to pay for what is important to them from an amenity perspec- tive, but conversely, prefer to have smaller living spaces or even have a roommate if that increases their value proposition. We continue to see a lot of double occupied units in the development program. Regarding operations, the major- ity of RFPs and client negotiations include the concept of joint man- agement. Specifically, institutions are proving to be more open today to having the private partner handle facilities maintenance, cus- todial responsibilities and land- scape maintenance, while retain- ing student affairs/programming, rent collection, judicial and room assignments at the university. The majority of our current university clients today are engaging RISE to provide these [facilities and main- tenance] management services. SHB: How about off-campus developments? What are some innovations by RISE? Blais: Off-campus development forces us to continually evaluate and hit the refresh button based on the markets we are serving. Demands are not necessarily consistent among residents from market to market. As a result of that inconsistency, coupled with the location and opportuni- ties of the given site, we probe the market to create the optimal value proposition to attract our residents. Because many of our sites are urban, we are developing mid-rises with residential over TM Simply Exceptional Connections Contact US TODAY sales@pavlovmedia.com 800.677.6812 OUR FIBER network brings gigabit speeds and even faster leasing