Chris Lee recently published an interesting article on outdoor amenities. It has some good tips for creating additional amenities that promote a sense of community in a cost-effective way. Check it out:
http://www.propertymanagementinsider.com/3-tips-for-creating-outdoor-living-spaces.html
But speaking of cost effectiveness, beyond the upfront capital dollars that Chris has in mind, should property owners also consider the operating expense? When implementing the ideas in the article, xeroscaping and other landscaping techniques to conserve water and electricity can be used. For those of you who manage utilities, do you have a collaborative relationship with your development/construction team? What can you do to start getting in on the ground floor of projects like this in order to help drive your company’s conservation and sustainability results?
And speaking of outdoor amentities, in case you missed it you should check out Mary Nitschke’s article on heating your pools:
http://umadvisory.org/to-heat-or-not-to-heat-that-is-the-question/
Kent works at RealPage and helps apartment firms reduce operating costs related to utilities. You can connect with Kent at LinkedIn.com/in/kentmcd or Twitter.com/AptsKent.