Building for Millennials: How to Make Sustainability Work for You

Building multifamily projects for Millennials usually requires a heavy focus on sustainability, but it may not be in the ways you think. That's why we’re excited to host Bisnow’s Austin Multifamily Surge event on Aug. 27 starting at 7:30am at the JW Marriott. We asked some experts for tips on attracting young professionals.

Paladino & Co technical director Brad Pease, a speaker at our event who’s working with developers on $2B of multifamily construction across the US, says Millennials are the first generation to grow up with recycling, and they’re well-read on environmental issues and new technology. They want their homes to express their sustainability values in a very visible and tangible way, and they want to be able to tell a story. That means their preferences are often more about the experience than technology hidden behind doors or in the basement.

Brad says a third-party certification like LEED is important because it confirms the credibility of the sustainable story. Millennials research and can be skeptical, so they like the confirmation. Plus, those certs usually come with plaques that act like food labels, validating to residents that they're living somewhere that aligns with their sustainability values. But if you’re going for LEED, Brad suggests, target the points that residents can see played out. That means solar panels out of sight on roofs aren’t valued as much (Baby Boomers who lived through the energy crisis love them, but Millennials don’t care about them because there’s no direct interaction) as tools like web-enabled interactive thermostats.