Monday's Four Secrets to Property Management Success
Since March, Monday Properties has leased 315k SF at NYC's landmarked 230 Park Ave (co-owned with Invesco) and topped out on Arlington, Va.'s 1812 North Moore, the tallest building in the DC region. (Its rivalry with the Washington Monument is fierce.) But you can’t have a successful building--whether historical or brand new--without good management. Here are EVP of property management and operations Hani Salama's secrets:
1) Invest in your managers
You can't service tenants without a motivated maintenance staff.That means having constant meetings with them, making them a part of the entire building team, and giving them ownership in building upgrades, Hani tells us. (He'll also give his thoughts at Bisnow's New York Property Management Summit Dec. 17.) Monday Properties has an extensive training program for its assistant property managers that takes five to seven months (US Army basic training only takes two and a half months), introducing the manager to all facets of the building's operations, such as engineering, construction, life safety, security, and financial reporting. It sends all its property managers for LEED-AP and RPA certifications.
2) Get on board with sustainability
All of Monday Properties' buildings are Energy Star rated, "and our tenants buy into sustainability as well," Hani says. For one, ING--which this year renewed its 144k SF lease at 230 Park--built out its space to LEED Gold. (And 230 Park itself is LEED Gold-EB; above, it's decked in festive lights... LED, of course.) Four other Monday buildings have LEED Gold-EB and three are slated for LEED Silver. "When you upgrade all of your systems, those energy and operational savings get passed along to the tenant," Hani says. It doesn't matter the age; the 85-year-old 230 Park has the same state-of-the-art building systems as the portfolio's baby, 1812 North Moore. The owner also uses energy management and monitoring software, which has saved $3M since the 2010 baseline (after vacancy and weather adjustments).
3) Promote your buildings
Monday Properties' buildings have nabbed a lot of accolades from the owner's push to make its property efforts known. 230 Park, for one, has various TOBY awards nationally, regionally, and locally, as well as NY Energy Consumers Council and BOMA 360 awards. (Snapped are Monday COO Brian Robin and Hani in the revamped lobby a few years ago.) Hani credits a comprehensive maintenance program, like software that alerts property managers to begin preparing for winter and summer, and tells engineers when preventative maintenance is needed. When service requests come through, they go to every engineer's iPhone, who can then respond immediately. This has led to tenant approval rates between 85% and 100% in its building surveys, he says.
4) Go beyond expectations
In NYC, there are specific laws about fire safety and emergency preparedness, and all tenants and building staff are trained. Even though these requirements don't exist in DC and Northern Virginia, Monday Properties also implemented the same guidelines in its buildings there. "Tenants then see you as a leader in emergency preparedness," Hani says (He reports Monday is in discussions with a handful of prospects on 1812, above). Monday's director of security, Matt Smith, is also chair of the AOBA Emergency Preparedness Committee and the Roslyn BID Security Preparedness Committee. Hani tells us he was just elected BOMA/NY secretary for the next two years and will be sworn in next week. He also enjoys golf, scuba diving, chess, and traveling with his wife of 26 years and two kids.
