July 3, 2023

Welcome to People and Properties, the Cohen-Esrey newsletter where we celebrate the successes of our team members and keep you informed about what is happening in the Cohen-Esrey world. If you have something you would like to share or an achievement that you would like to celebrate, please send it to Lee Harris at lharris@cohenesrey.com. If you are on a property, please print and distribute this newsletter to each member of your property team. You can also find People and Properties on KnowledgeNet. Click here to view previous editions.

Four Bedroom Apartments – Really?

Cohen-Esrey Housing Partners (CEHP) a forerunner to the Cohen-Esrey Development Group (CEDG) redeveloped Northwoods in 2004 using tax-exempt bonds and affordable housing tax credits. The 101-unit affordable community is located north of the Missouri River in Kansas City, MO, and was built in 1970. Sixty-three units have a project-based Section 8 rent subsidy contract and are available to qualified residents who pay no more than 30% of their income as rent. The federal government provides funding for the balance of the rent. The property features one-bedroom units of 672 square feet with average rent of $558 per month. Two-bedroom units range are 806 square feet with average rent of $741 per month. Three-bedroom units are 972 square feet with average rent of $809 per month. And, believe it or not, there are a handful of four-bedroom units of 1,094 square feet with asking rent of $1,000 per month. The competition certainly doesn’t offer four-bedroom apartments! Northwoods provides a large, well-equipped playground, bus routes are close by, a beautiful two-mile walking path is available, and the property is in the well-regarded Park Hill School District. Northwoods is situated in a quiet neighborhood just minutes from Interstate 29 that leads to the Kansas City International Airport and surrounding industrial and commercial employers. It is also less than six miles from Park University, and less than 2.5 miles from three large shopping centers.

Northwoods is one of four properties in Kansas City’s Northland that was developed by CEHP. The other three properties have been recently sold and included Walnut Grove (184-units), Brentwood Manor (120-units), and Chaumiere Place (35-units). All four properties utilized affordable housing tax credits and tax-exempt bond financing. Walnut Grove was a 100% project-based Section 8 community. With the exception of Chaumiere Place, the properties previously had HUD Section 236 financing. Walnut Grove was the first for-profit apartment community in the country to undergo a process called “decoupling” where the Interest Reduction Payment (IRP) component of the debt was stripped and used as collateral for a tranche of the bond financing. Brentwood and Northwoods followed suit with the decoupling process. Yes, this was a very complex financial structure, but it allowed for all three properties to generate enough debt and equity proceeds to make the necessary physical improvements back in the early 2000s. Northwoods also experienced a major fire recently that required the reconstruction of an entire building.

Kim Plumb (2020) is the Property Manager and Cassie Colston (2004), Assistant Vice President is the Regional Manager. Leslie Whitney (2022) is the Property Accountant, Lana Frank (2022) is the Property Accounting Assistant, and Rodney Chmidling (2015), is the Accounts Payable Specialist.

Finally, look at what someone said recently about Kim:

“Hello, my name is Pastor Faisa Atomsa of the Ebenezer Oromo Evangelical Church of Kansas City, and I wanted to write and express my appreciation for the current manager of Northwoods Apartments in Kansas City. Her name is Kimberly Plumb.

I work with the Ethiopian community here in Kansas City, MO. Many people in our community have rented from Northwoods over the years. Since Kimberly has been in charge many people in our community have mentioned how much things have improved. They say how well they have been treated, and they have felt respected. Their concerns have been heard if there were any and issues were addressed well. They have all been very happy with these changes.

With many people in our community renting from Northwoods, I just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate Kimberly and the work she is doing there. Thank you!”

Way to go Kim!! Great delivery of Customer Fulfillment!

We welcome the following new team members to Cohen-Esrey and the Nexus 5 Group.

Helene Ogden – Walnut Street Flats, Reedsburg, WI – Property Manager
Lonnie Alexander – Park at Forest Hill, Memphis, TN – Groundskeeper
Chris Spears – The Maxwell, Kansas City, MO – Leasing Agent
Jordan Harrigle – Hamptons at East Cobb, Marietta, GA – Maintenance Technician
Christian Paniagua – Lofts at Ventura, San Antonio, TX – Maintenance Technician
Da’Nia Rowsey – Champion at Bluegrass, Lexington, KY – Assistant Property Manager
Evan Doggett – Cohen-Esrey Development Group – Accounting Assistant
Lydia Bargabus – Sinclair Flats, Mankato, MN – Property Manager
Korey Brewer – Willowpark, Lawton, OK – Groundskeeper
Christopher Mann – Lakes at North Port, North Port, FL – Lead Maintenance Technician

Meet the HR Team

You most likely interact with them periodically – but have you ever met our Human Resources team? Here’s your chance.

L-R – Dee Krause (2022), Recruiter, Gina Long (2022), HR Generalist, Jennifer Turner (2018), Director of Human Resources,

Marilee Scheid (2019), Director of Learning and Development, and Sara Antar (2002), Payroll Administrator.

Nexus 5 Building Pet Parks

By Stan Phelps (2017), Project Manager

I remember the days of pet discouragement by a great percentage of apartment owners not wanting to incur pet damage or deal with complaints from residents about pet owners and picking up their poop. While the "picking up the poop" complaint hasn’t changed, the way apartment owners market to pet owners sure has.

Marketing 20 years ago for pets was easy, all you had to say is yes, we take pets and boom you had a lease. Now, you must market to the prospect and his or her pet. (Sometimes the pet can be the decision maker so have your pet treats ready.)

Apartment amenities are catering to pets and it’s a race to see who can market the best pet amenities. New apartments are building pet parks and pet washes as a standard amenity and older complexes are building and marketing them as fast as they can get them built. We've built as many as ten pet parks and five pet washes in less than a year. And we receive continual requests for pricing to build pet parks and pet washes all over the country.

Some apartment communities have started their own in-house pet daycare centers and pet walking services. It seems like the sky is the limit for pet amenities. Maybe we've just touched the surface on what can be provided and marketed to prospects. Now if someone could invent some disappearing poop spray, everyone would be happy!

Transformational Construction!

Construction continues at several Cohen-Esrey Development Group (CEDG) future communities.

Site preparation is underway at Lewis Lofts, the sister project to Sinclair Flats in Mankato, MN.

Plumbing the site is well underway at Panorama Heights in Colorado Springs.

Good progress continues at Loma Vista Lofts in San Antonio, TX.

A Healthy Tip

By Jennifer Turner (2018), Director of Human Resources

Sunshine! Barbecues! Fireworks! Who doesn’t love a good Independence Day celebration? To make it a memorable day with family and friends, consider doing a few of the following:

Wear Sunscreen: Vitamin D is good for us but make sure to use sun protection from harmful UVA and UVB rays. Studies show that sunburns increase the risk of skin cancer by 12 times!

Eat Light: Eating a heavy meal while outside in the heat is no fun. To make sure your food doesn’t weigh down your festivities, make salads and sides to balance the main course. You may be snacking during the day too so having healthy options readily available is smart.

Stay Hydrated with Water: No matter where you are in America, July is HOT! Be sure to drink plenty of water to keep your body from overheating. Fresh fruit is also a good thing to have on hand as fruits are packed with vitamins, fiber, and water.

Start an Active Tradition: Maybe an annual family kickball tournament or neighborhood volleyball game. Not only will it get everyone’s blood pumping, but it will also provide good stories to share for years to come!

Make Sure You’re Using a Clean Grill: A dirty grill can be a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. Be sure you cook all food to the recommended temperature to destroy any harmful bacteria.

Make Healthy Drinks: Instead of providing sugar filled sodas, make healthy variations such as home-made iced tea sweetened with agave nectar or sparkling cucumber water!

Play Lawn Games: Ask your guests to bring their favorite lawn game instead of yet another dessert.

Calling All Tipsters!

In the last issue of People & Properties we launched a new concept in. . . Calling All Tipsters! We offer a subject and ask all team members to give their advice, tips, or experiences that may prove helpful to other team members. In the last issue we posed the following question:

What is the #1 thing you do to deliver Customer Fulfillment?

Here are some of the responses:

“The #1 thing I do to deliver Customer Fulfillment is to remember the person I am working with/speaking to is a person just like me.

Sometimes, since we don’t see the inner workings of a stranger’s life, it can be easy to forget that they have their own challenges, just like us. I think we often will have a bad encounter with a person and then we tell ourselves that they are a bad person when it is more likely that they had a bad day. I try to focus on the person as a friend instead of just another inconvenience I have to overcome.

I have noticed that as I do this, it is easier to find the root cause of an issue or to have more empathy for the situation a person may be in. It also makes it easier for me to want to help where I can.” Emily Fletcher (2022), Property Accounting Assistant

“In response to the recent issue of People & Properties on Customer Fulfillment, I wanted to share what I recently did at the Rankin Mill Apartments! I am super excited about it and I thought it might be something easy for other properties to do, especially the affordable properties.

I turned one of the spare unused office rooms at Rankin Mill into a pantry for the residents! We have all different kinds of non-perishable food items, and toiletries. I asked for donations amongst my family and friends to kick it off, and I also purchased items myself, because I wanted it to be full to start. The residents LOVE it! They have also dropped off items that they want to donate, and they pick up items they need for their home.

We have many elderly residents that can't always make it to the food bank, and single parents, who may not always be able to afford the necessities for their families. This is also great for just anyone down on their luck!” Alanna Johnson (2020), Property Manager, Rankin Mill

“To me Customer Fulfillment is always following up with the resident, this could be from move in to move out, also making sure they are satisfied with their apartment and staff. This is also following up on work orders. I love the above and beyond attitude.” Carolyn Henson (2021), Regional Manager

“To me Customer Fulfillment is going above and beyond such as making sure you are doing everything you can to help residents, vendors, and prospects feel like they are important. Follow-up with work orders before and after the process; get those invoices uploaded in a timely manner; return those phone calls to give updates on an application; help them find resources they may need at the time; keep the grounds picked up from trash; have resident socials; find fun activities for the kids; and keep the residents informed of changes and happenings in the community. If you see someone in passing on the property, be sure to give them a smile and a, ‘how are you doing’ in passing. Here at The Summit, we treat the residents like family, before during, and sometimes even after.” Lori Jeffries (2022), Property Manager, Summit at Osage

“The #1 thing I do to deliver Customer Fulfillment is to first listen. We live in a fast paced, electronic filled, angry world. The art of listening and hearing what a person has to say gets lost in that kind of environment. I have found, especially with the people who barge in shouting, that hearing them out levels the playing field and just by validating them and their concern changes the atmosphere so we can try to resolve the issue.” Lisa Ralston (2020), Property Manager, Elmhurst Terrace

These are all worthy ideas and we thank those team members who made the submissions. We will be sending a $25 gift card to Alanna Johnson for her unique idea about developing a food pantry for her residents to deliver Customer Fulfillment. Watch the next issue for a new tip question.

Another Empowerment Story

By Jose Sauceda (2022), Property Manager, Big Chair Lofts

Jose Sauceda (2022), is the Property Manager for the Brewery Lofts in Hastings, NE. Here is what he has to say about his Empowerment:

My name is Jose Sauceda and I have been a Property Manager for Cohen-Esrey for almost a year now, but a total of two years. Prior to becoming the Property Manager, I was hired as a part time Maintenance Technician in August of 2019 and was promoted to the full time Property Manager/Maintenance Technician in March of 2020. I took a brief hiatus and went to work for the local housing authority for several months prior to returning to Cohen-Esrey.

The property I manage is the Brewery Lofts. The apartment community is a tax credit/HOME property and has 35 units. There is a tremendous amount of responsibility and many challenges for a Property Manager. Not only has Cohen-Esrey helped me overcome the many obstacles I have faced, but they also ensure that I feel supported. Having the opportunity to help my residents and provide an affordable place to live where people can call home Empowers me every day. Since being a part of Cohen-Esrey, I have grown not only as a Property Manager but as an individual. The best decision I made was returning home to the Brewery Lofts!

The Revenue Growth Champions!

By Michele Rollo-Burns (2018), Director of Revenue

Each month we recognize communities that have realized stellar year-over-year (YOY) revenue growth. For the month of June 2023, here are the standouts with growth of 5% or more. Congratulations to each team for the progress made! Nine properties are on the list this month! Several more properties are hovering in the 4% to 5% range – we hope they’ll push into 5% territory and beyond in July.

Core Value of the Month

A Heartwarming Story About Integrity

By Kathy Cogdill (2004), Property Manager, Old Orchard Estates

In Davenport Iowa, which is in the Quad Cities (Carbon Cliff is in that metro), an apartment building collapsed leaving 80 residents homeless. The middle of the building collapsed, but the residents whose apartments remained intact could not go into the building to retrieve their belongs because the building was not safe. Unfortunately, three people did not make it out of the building alive. To rescue one resident from the building a medical team had to remove her leg on site. This was a devastating situation and was reported on national news.

We contacted the Salvation Army to see what we could do to help. We were given a list of items that the residents who lost everything needed. The residents at Old Orchard Estates really stepped up to donate items needed, clothing for adults and children, blankets, new hygiene products, phone chargers, backpacks, kitchen items, toys, books, games and so much more. We had a large truck full of items for the families. Our maintenance team loaded the items and took them to the Salvation Army who gave the families vouchers to shop for what they needed.

I originally thought this would be a Community Impact Core Value which of course it is, but after listening to Mr. Harris on the Spirit Week video I decided to turn it in for this week’s Integrity Core Value. Mr. Harris talked about Integrity as “Doing the Right Thing.” I feel that is what the residents here at Old Orchard Estates did by caring for the needs of all these people and doing the right thing by helping them to build their lives back together.

Thank you, Cohen-Esrey, for treating our Core Values with respect and Integrity!

Congratulations to Marilee!

Congratulations to Marilee Scheid (2019), Director of Learning and Development, on becoming Certified by Caliper. Cohen-Esrey has used Caliper Assessments to assist in hiring since 2003. Becoming certified required completing all necessary coursework and attending remote training over the course of six sessions. Some of the information included was how to leverage the Caliper Assessment insights to make intelligent talent decisions across recruitment, onboarding, training, succession planning, leadership development and team building. Marilee received in-depth information to read and analyze the Caliper Assessments. Nice to add another tool to your kit, Marilee! Great work!

Celebrating Core Values Spirit Week

We are grateful to the Fun Team for celebrating Core Values Spirit Week (June 19 – 23). Team members wore different colors each day relating to the different Core Values – Monday – Purple (Integrity), Tuesday – Blue (Commitment), Wednesday – Pink (Customer Fulfillment), Thursday – Orange (Team Member Fulfillment), and Friday – Green (Community Impact). A special thanks to Emily Fletcher (2022), Property Accounting Assistant, and Calvin Fletcher (2021), CEAI Underwriting Analyst, for organizing and producing the video interviews with members of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) that were posted each day. Below are photos of different team members in the Corporate Office wearing the “color of the day” as well as enjoying a Spirit Week luncheon. The three ladies in pink are members of the Lofton Place team.

Members of the Fun Team include:

Arley Hoskin (2022), Marketing and Ad Specialist

Brent Phillips (2021), Director of Maintenance and Safety

Calvin Fletcher (2021), CEAI Underwriting Analyst

Dawn Boyer (2022), Regional Manager

Debbie Van Dyne (1987), Office Manager

Emily Fletcher (2022), Property Accounting Assistant

Gina Long (2022), Human Resources Generalist

Lisa Moore (2021), Draw Specialist

Marilee Scheid (2019), Director of Learning and Development

Megan Lierz (2022), Business Units Accountant

Noelle Wilson (2022), Real Page/Customer Fulfillment Specialist

Sarah Dawson (2021), Nexus 5 Accounts Receivable Specialist

And There’s More from Core Values Spirit Week

Cookies, Cookies, and More Cookies

Sarah Cranford (2022), Regional Manager, and Gabbie Cranford (2023), Mobile Leasing Agent, were both hard at work at Andover Park in Kansas City, MO, showing their appreciation to their customers with delicious cookies.

Old Orchard Estates – Commitment and Customer Fulfillment

Craig Oppendike (2009) is the only maintenance person on site for Old Orchard Estates, a 144-unit property in Carbon Cliff, IL. He has maintained this property mostly by himself for the last year. Like most properties in the portfolio, Old Orchard has very hot and humid weather. We all know that with hot weather, we have air conditioning problems. The Old Orchard maintenance shop has two garages with a window A/C unit installed on the wall of the end garage.

Recently, an A/C unit went out in a one-bedroom unit and a new one needed to be ordered. The Old Orchard A/C unit orders have been taking more than a week to ship. Craig went to the Property Manager and asked if she would please prepare a work-order for the unit. Knowing that a new A/C unit was not available, the Property Manager asked what his plan was. Craig explained that he was going to take the window A/C out of the maintenance shop and put it in the one-bedroom unit so the resident would have some relief from the heat. This left the maintenance shop where he works without any air.

This is a spectacular display of Customer Fulfillment and Commitment to the residents of Old Orchard Estates!

Loretto at Creekside – Commitment

The team at Loretto at Creekside in San Antonio, TX, has been without a custodian for the past six months! Recently, Rosalina Arce (2022), Property Manager, Jackie Espinoza (2022), Leasing Agent, and Joe Rendon (2023), Assistant Property Manager, showed their Commitment to ensuring the office is well maintained daily. This was especially crucial in preparing for Loretto's upcoming photo shoot for the Marketing Team Department.

While contract housekeeping is done once a month to stay within budget, the Loretto team works together during the month to ensure the office is always looking great and smells fantastic. The Loretto team prioritizes some time every morning to create a welcoming environment for all their guests and staff that walk through their doors.

Old Orchard Estates Team Member Fulfillment

Old Orchard Estates fulfilled their team members with a gift card to a favorite ice cream shop in the area. They also had this to say as well, “The team of Old Orchard Estates would like to show our Team Member Fulfillment by saying THANK YOU to the Executive Leadership Team and the Fun Team for all their encouragement and for giving us the opportunity to highlight our properties! We would like to thank our AWESOME Regional Manager, Rebecca Grimm (2019) for always caring about us and being there to nurture our professional growth! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!”

Loretto at Creekside Customer Fulfillment

Loretto at Creekside team members hosted a fun pool party for the residents.

Community Impact

Richard Williams (2020), Renovation Director, shared his involvement in trying to impact the community through the Family Faith Festival; a music festival created to bring communities together in faith and peace. He had this to share about the event:

“Like the foundation of this great Country, diversity (and overcoming the negatives) is the bedrock of Memphis. The Faith Family Festival is a celebration of that ongoing journey of victories. Overcoming the challenges of, and creating the opportunities within, that journey are played out in multifamily communities every day…more than anywhere else. In many cases, the bridge-to-better starts in multifamily. Have you, or anyone you know, ever lived in a multifamily community? The answer is a resounding ’yes.’ So, what better place to cultivate and harvest right-relationships? Those right-relationships (the common-union in communities) transform distant residents into close neighbors.That in turn, translates into communities with reduced crime, reduced strife, and more harmony. And that my friend, is as magnetic to growing occupancy as ‘perfect’ curb-appeal.”

The Landing at 818 Customer Fulfillment

Amanda Ashley (2022) Property Manager at the Landing at 818 in Sun Prairie, WI, said the following, “I wanted to share some pictures with you on our Resident Meet and Greet that we hosted on Friday June 23rd. My assistant Kris Scheffler (2023) and I cooked dinner for our residents, and we were able to have many residents meet each other and enjoy a fun time.”

Preserve at Westover Hills Commitment

Team members at Preserve at Westover Hills in San Antonio, TX, showed their Commitment by pitching in to beautify the property by planting flowers and giving the entrance some pizzaz!

Tower Village Customer Fulfillment

Tower Village in St. Louis, MO, held a Customer Fulfillment Father’s Day event for the residents.

Lofts at Ventura Customer Fulfillment

The Lofts at Ventura in San Antonio, TX, hosted a pool party for their residents.

Marquette Hall Customer Fulfillment

Marquette Hall in Dubuque, IA, held a seminar for the residents to discuss the importance of renter’s insurance. Great turnout for a 28-unit property.

The Cities of Cohen-Esrey

To date we have featured St. Louis, Topeka, KS, Wichita, KS, Springfield and Joplin, MO, San Antonio, TX, and the Dallas Metroplex in our series on the Cities of Cohen-Esrey. In this issue we’ll focus on Atlanta/Macon, GA, where Cohen-Esrey has had an off-and-on presence for 30 years. In the early 1990s, the company began managing apartments in Macon, GA, a metro of 234,000 people a short 84 miles south of Atlanta on Interstate 75. Cohen-Esrey’s first assignment was for a large national market-rate apartment syndicator that owned the Nob Hill Apartments (242-units) and Forest Hill Apartments (101-units) in that city. Another small 30-unit asset in Macon was managed on behalf of a national tax credit equity investor. Zurich Structured Finance retained Cohen-Esrey to manage the 344-unit Grant Park Commons in Atlanta in the mid-2000s. Cohen-Esrey Apartment Investors (CEAI) has been active in Atlanta, first acquiring the 350-unit Sandtown Vista which has since been sold. CEAI also purchased the Hamptons at East Cobb (196-units) in the suburb of Marietta, and the Tall Oaks (174-units) in the suburb of Conyers that are currently in the portfolio. The firm’s cumulative experience in the Atlanta/Macon markets totals 1,437 units.

Atlanta is a target market for CEAI as well as the Cohen-Esrey Development Group (CEDG). The metro area is home to more than 6.1 million people making it the eighth largest in the country. One of the most attractive factors is its population growth. From 2021 to 2022, the city saw a 1.73% increase in population, and from 2022 to 2023, the increase was 1.55% making it the eighth fastest growing city in the U.S. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the busiest in the world with nearly 94 million passengers each year. With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $385 billion, the Atlanta metro economy is the 11th largest in the country and the 22nd largest in the world. It hosts the global headquarters of Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Delta Airlines, Arby’s, AT&T Mobility, Georgia-Pacific, Chick-fil-A, Church’s Chicken, Dunkin Donuts, Norfolk Southern Railway, Mercedes-Benz USA, NAPA Auto Parts, Papa Johns, Porsche AG, Newell Brands, Marble Slab Creamery, and UPS. Professional sports are also an important part of the Atlanta culture including the Atlanta Braves (MLB), the Atlanta Falcons (NFL), Atlanta Hawks (NBA), and the Atlanta United FC (MLS). The city has 343 parks, nature preserves and gardens that cover 3,622 acres. Interestingly, 64% of Atlantans live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Finally, Atlanta is home to more than 15 colleges and universities including prominent institutions such as the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Morehouse School of Medicine

Holding Steady

The month of June ended on a high note with a an overall CEC Net Promoter Score of +40, and for Nexus 5 at +88! Congratulations to every team member who is doing his or her part to ensure the delivery of Customer Fulfillment every single day. Now – are you ready for the really big news? There are 40 of our communities on a Leaderboard and 32 have an NPS of +40 or greater – that’s up from 29 at the end of May. This is a huge accomplishment especially since we are now seeing properties on Leaderboards that have never been there before. Our Vision 2026 goal of +50 is clearly within reach.

We also want to recognize the Summit at Osage at +94.03, Orchard View at +94.29, and The Boulevard at +92.40 for reamining atop their respective Leaderboards! And we want to recognize other properties with an NPS of +90 or better including Clay Hall at +93.10, and The Landing at 818 at +90.38. Don’t take your foot off the accelerator. Success begets more success. Great job!!