Property news continues to report on the surge in Build to Rent (BTR) projects being planned across Australia with many developers raising capital and searching for suitable sites. Melbourne is leading the charge with the largest number of projects mooted or under construction.
As all the apartments in a BTR project are owned and managed by a single operator, there is greater scope for the owner to provide additional services and invest in the community engagement amongst the residents. Physical spaces or facilities in the development act as the incubator for socialisation to build a neighbourhood community with things such as fitness classes, book clubs, community kitchen gardens, device/tool/item sharing, co-working spaces, and cooking classes all being considered by developers.
The specific BTR location will drive the profile of people attracted to each project and the services will need to match the demographic with some developers engaging the building community via food, beverage and music events.
Technology will play a big role to facilitate both physical connections as well as specific interest groups, enabling residents to communicate with each other in big or small groups in a managed way about social activities, building issues or sharing and helping each other. The building app will also enable residents to book and pay for services or spaces, request maintenance, gain electronic access to rooms, get residents feedback and much more.
The role of building management has never been more important to make this work and Wood Property are working with a number of groups with project design to ensure in-apartment design, overall building services and front of house engagement all work together to deliver the best outcome.
