Pub. 4 2019 Issue 2

8 www.ctaahq.org East Meadow Condominiums, an 82-unit complex in Manchester, was able to replace their roofs and upgrade their boilers while unlocking $26,000 in annual free cash flow after debt service. Visit www.ctgreenbank.com/ctaa for information or email multifamily@ctgreenbank.com The Connecticut Green Bank offers financing that drives a holistic energy and water-savings approach to your multifamily property. Solutions include: • Standardized and custom pre- development technical assistance • No money-down, unsecured financing options (efficiency & solar) • Potential to finance additional capital improvements • Enhanced property cash flow from energy savings • Health and safety improvement financing Unlock Savings with Green Energy & Efficiency Upgrades leisure or worthwhile causes. “They want to come together as a community,” she said. “This is the Etsy Generation.” Apartments Can Make an Impact on Corporate Social Responsibility Jen Piccotti, chief operator officer of ManagInc, says apart- ments can have an impact on overall corporate social responsi- bility by making sure employees and residents know what they care about and talking about it. She noted that multifamily rose to the occasion when natural disasters impacted Texas, California and Oregon in the past couple of years yet didn’t really say much about it. “We’ve had hurricanes, flooding, and in Northern California and Oregon we had horrible wildfires, and who came in to help?” she said. “A lot of people, and big part was our indus- try. We volunteered, brought supplies, yet we don’t talk about it that much. We should. People want to know. They want to see if you’re a match.” She added that 84.2 percent of multifamily companies sur- veyed by ManagInc recently had company-organized commu- nity service events. Just the sort of thing that Gen Z relishes. Tools Like Portals Can Be an Invitation for Younger Renters In addition to instilling strong corporate social responsibility, utilizing multifamily tools like community portals can help property managers attract younger renters to their properties. In recent years, online resident portals have transformed where residents interact with each other and apartment staff. They build a sense of community by providing a place to so- cialize and connect with their neighbors, says Jennifer Torig- oe, Industry Principal Consumer Solutions at RealPage. “Gen Z renters expect to have the ability to connect with their community and their neighbors, and they expect that expe- rience to be mobile and user-friendly,” she said. “Providing a feature-rich, immersive, mobile experience is a must for this generation.” Things are changing with resident expectations, notes Gris- vard. That happens when one generation moves on and anoth- er arrives. Make no bones about it, she says, Gen Z is here. And now it’s up to multifamily companies and others listen to what the generation is saying. If not, they may be missing out. Continued from page 7